


The tale of Mary, the Aquamarine Combat Connie

by Chromite



Series: Combat Connies [8]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventures, Aliens, Beach City, Earth, Gem Weapons, Gem mission, Hanging Out, Other, Spaceships, Training, Trying to move on, Unnamed Bismuth, Unnamed Topaz, Unnamed Yellow Topaz, alien world, burial, having fun, learning to cope with death, pendant, trial, unnamed Blue Topaz, unnamed Peridot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-01-04 14:35:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18345653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromite/pseuds/Chromite
Summary: A look into Mary's final mission, and where the end of it leads her. (The Major Character Death happens in the first chapter, and is mentioned a few times after. No other deaths happen past the first chapter, it's not that kind of story.)





	1. Mission to an alien world

>An Aquamarine and her combat Connie had been assigned to a scouting mission, to assess the viability of creating a non-intrusive colony on a world teeming with life. The team was to catalog the lifeforms present and present the data to the Era Three Colony planners.  
>Preliminary scans showed the lifeforms present were of the smaller variety. With this in mind, the gems assigned to the mission split off into pairs to survey the planet faster. Naturally, gems and their fusion partners were paired together. They began to explore a dense grove of trees.  
>Twenty minutes in to the mission, the silence was broken. "This is so boooooring!" the girl whined out, using her water wings to flutter through the air in a reclined position. She was used to being assigned to more exciting missions, ones that required putting her formidable combat skills to use.  
>"Now Mary, you know not all missions can be exciting." her Aquamarine hovered directly over the girl, looking down with a stern expression. "This mission is for the betterment of gemkind, just like all our other missions. Please take it seriously."  
>Mary's face fell a bit at the reprimand from her Aquamarine. "Sorry Aqua. I know all missions are important. But, don't you think it's strange? We haven't come across any of the smaller creatures that are suppose to be around."  
>The Aquamarine's eyes widened a bit, then narrowed as she pulled a whip out of her left shoulder gem. "Mary, compound bow, now, and be alert! You're right, things are far too quiet in this forest."  
>Mary brought herself into an upright position. The gem on her chest glowed brightly as she pulled out a simple bow from her gem. The Aquamarine handed her whip to Mary and pulled her wand out. Mary focused on her bow and the whip in her hands. The weapons glowed as they merged together, the bow shifting shape, the whip shifting into three extra bowstrings and reinforcing the structure of the bow itself.  
>The pair scanned the environment, looking for any signs of movement, listening for any sounds that would give away signs of alien life. Nothing was happening, no sounds, no signs of movement. The area was eerily still.  
>Then the Aquamarine spotted it. A slight movement right behind Mary. "Mary, move!" she shouted as she shot a beam from her wand. Mary moved towards her right, just in time for the beam to pass her and engulf what Aquamarine had been aiming at.  
>The Aquamarine used her wand to move the creature closer for examination. The colors on it's body shifted from the greens and browns of the surrounding area into a sickly purple hue. It's body was half the size of Aquamarine, a long straw like appendage stretching out from it's head, reptilian eyes narrowing. It's body was long and slim, spines covering it's back.  
>"Camouflage, great. That complicates things." the Aquamarine cursed as she looked at the beast.  
>"That explains why there was nothing around." Mary whispered, staring at the creature in awe. "What should we do Aqua?"  
>"We need to get back to camp and report this. If all the creatures on this planet can blend in, we're in for-"  
>The Aquamarine was cut off by a glob of liquid impacting her form and a loud hissing sound coming from her left shoulder. The pair looked at the Aquamarine's shoulder in horror as acid began to eat away at her gem. The area behind Aquamarine changed colors, revealing a large swarm of the sickly purple aliens, the ground below them being eaten away by the acid dripping off of the straw-like appendages.  
>The Aquamarine dropped her wand as her form began to glitch and her gem started to dissolve. "Mary......RUN!!!!" she cried out before her mouth faded from her face. Mary stared in horror as her partner gem's form began to fall apart in front of her. Her bow glowed dully as it reverted back to it's base form, the Aquamarine's gem weapon fading away from the mix.  
>"Aqua, no. NO! YOU MONSTERS!!!!!!" Mary cried out as the sorrow of her gem partner dying before her eyes turned into rage. Her eyes narrowed as she knocked three arrows at once and fired into the dense swarm of purple aliens. The arrows impacted the trees the creatures were perched on, glowing briefly before exploding violently, ripping the creatures closest to the three impact sites to shreds, sending the rest flying into the air. Mary knocked more arrows into her bow, her rage growing. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!!!!"  
\---------  
>When the first team failed to report back, Homeworld sent a second team to the planet, to investigate what had happened. Scans of the planet revealed no creature life at all, a stark contrast to the first readings. The Peridot flying the ship brought the vessel down into the planet's atmosphere, revealing a horrid sight to the crew on the screens. Chunks of alien flesh covered the planet's surface, the trees that had once stood tall had been ripped apart, mountains reduced to piles of pebbles, the liquids on the planet tainted with grey blood. Then a Bismuth in the crew spotted it on her screen. A single surviving gem, sitting on top of a gem ship, holding something close to her body.  
>"Peridot look! It's one of those Combat Connies! What should we do?"  
>"We're going to retrieve her and ask what happened. Bringing the ship down!" the Peridot exclaimed, maneuvering the vessel to land next to the other gem ship.  
>The Bismuth and a Topaz volunteered to go to the girl. They exited the ship from the top hatch, jumping carefully over to the top of the other vessel. They could hear the girl's sobs and hear her heaving clearly now. They could see her tears falling upon her hands, clutching something tightly. The pair exchanged a look before the Bismuth moved closer to the girl, placing a hand gently on her right shoulder.  
>"What happened here?" the Bismuth asked tentatively."  
>The girl looked up, tears in her eyes. "She's, she's gone. They're all gone. All of them." She opened her hands slowly, revealing a small blue fragment, rough and ragged from where acid had corroded the gem. The Bismuth's eyes widened upon the sight. The Topaz had moved close enough to hear the statement, but not close enough to see the shard.  
>"What happened to the organics here?" The Topaz asked nervously.  
>The girl's hand clenched back around the tiny gem shard, venom filling her voice. "I killed them all. Every last living thing on this forsaken planet. They deserved nothing less for destroying Aqua and the rest of the crew." her snarl broke, her face falling once more as she began to cry again. "Why Aqua? Why did it, did it have to end like this? We, we were so happy to-together."  
>The Bismuth and the Topaz exchanged a glance. The Topaz spoke up. "Come on, let's get off this planet. Do you have a name, Combat Connie?"  
>The girl sniffled before replying. "Mary. My Aquamarine always called me Mary."  
>"We'll get things sorted from here Mary. Come on, let's get back to Homeworld." the Bismuth spoke, picking Mary up into her arms. The trio boarded the vessel Mary had arrived in. The Bismuth took Mary towards the relaxation quarters while the Topaz opened a line to the other ship. The Peridot showed up on screen.  
>"What's the situation?" Peridot asked as she saw the Topaz on her screen.  
>"There are no other surviving gems Peridot. All organic life on the planet has been eradicated by the lone surviving gem, a Combat Connie named Mary."  
>The Peridot raised her eyebrows "All of it? Oh my stars, the Diamonds are not going to be happy about that."  
>"From what the survivor told us, it's better this way. The life forms were dangerous enough to wipe out an entire crew of gems except her."  
>"Perhaps you are right. Can either of you fly that vessel?"  
>"I've had flight training, I can manage it if I lock on to the signal from your vessel."  
>"Very well Topaz, I'll leave piloting that ship to you. Peridot out."  
>The screen closed and the Peridot leaned back in her pilot's chair. She whispered to herself in awe. "One gem wiping out an entire planet? Stars, what goes into those Combat Connies?"  
>The Peridot brings herself out of her pondering to set a course back to Homeworld. She silently hopes the Diamonds aren't too harsh on the girl, losing such a gem would be a waste.


	2. Mary's Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary stands before Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, awaiting judgement for her actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might want to read "Yellow Diamond's Special Order" (https://archiveofourown.org/works/18179057) before reading this chapter. It's not required to understand the story.

>Mary stood nervously before Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond. She had been summoned to the courtroom, to have judgement passed on her actions.  
>New laws of Era Three made Mary's genocide of an entire planet's alien population a severe transgression. Tales of her actions, her power, had spread like wildfire shortly after she had been retrieved. Despite the obvious violation of the new laws, the elimination of an entire crew of gems by hazardous alien lifeforms was enough to warrant deliberation.  
>No lawyers were present, the case was left solely to the deliberation of the Diamonds themselves. White Diamond was occupied in negotiations with a more intelligent alien species, Blue and Yellow couldn't wait for her to finish. Judgement had to be passes as swiftly as possible, or they risked other gems breaking other rules.  
>"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Combat Connie?" Blue Diamond spoke softly, looking down upon the girl from her blue throne.  
>"N-nothing I haven't already told others, my Diamond." Mary stuttered a bit before continuing. "When I saw my.....my Aquamarine get destroyed in front of me, I just......snapped. I know it wasn't right, but I don't regret what I did. They robbed me of my partner, they killed the rest of the gems assigned to that mission. They were too dangerous to operate around."  
>"I see. Well then, I suppose we have all we-"  
>"Blue, may I speak with you a moment?" Yellow Diamond's voice cut through the courtroom.  
>"Can't it wait Yellow? It's not like you to delay official business."  
>"What I have to say relates to this Blue."  
>"Oh, very well." Blue Diamond sighed.  
>Yellow Diamond made her way over towards Blue and whispered something into her ear.  
>Blue Diamond's eyes widened. "Wait, really? You? For how long?"  
>"Around a month. I've been waiting on an opportunity to introduce her to you and White, but our schedules haven't lined up in that time."  
>"Are you certain you want her to pass judgement?"  
>"I'm sure. I want to see how she handles it."  
>"Alright Yellow. I'm curious about how she'll do too."  
>Mary stood bewildered as the two Diamonds spoke. Who were they talking about? What was going on. She saw Yellow Diamond send a message on a screen before she turned her attention towards Mary.  
>"Combat Connie! Blue and I have decided to have your fate chosen by one like yourself."  
>"One......like me? What do you mean?"  
>A shining yellow beam lit up the courtroom before either Diamond could answer Mary's inquiry. A large yellow figure appeared in the courtroom, half the size of Yellow Diamond. A chill went down Mary's back as she caught sight of the newcomer's hair, resembling her own so much, while having clear similarities to Yellow Diamond's own style as it formed points at the top of the girls hair.  
>"I'm here Yellow! You wanted me for something?" the girl's voice was cheerful, but a slight hint of nervousness was mixed in.  
>"Sunlight, please come here. I want you to do something."  
>"Okay!" Sunlight made her way over towards Yellow Diamond. Mary's jaw hung open as she saw the large girl wrap her arms around Yellow Diamond's seated form. Who was this gem, being so informal and friendly with a Diamond.  
>"Sunlight, I want you to handle passing judgement on this Combat Connie. Do you think you can do it?"  
>"Wait, you want me to pass judgement on one like myself?"  
>"Precisely."  
>"O-okay! I can do that!"  
>Mary wondered if she heard that correctly. One like her? Her pondering turned to shock as a small yellow throne warped into the courtroom and the girl turned around to sit down in it. Mary looked at her face in wonder. Sunlight was a Combat Connie.  
>Sunlight looked at Mary from her throne and smiled briefly before she put on a stern expression.  
>"You are the gem in question, the Combat Connie awaiting judgement, correct?"  
>Mary paused a moment. "Yes,I am, my Diamond."  
>Sunlight smiled a bit. "You can call me Sunlight if you want. Do you have a name you prefer going by?"  
>Mary smiled at the question. "Mary, my name is Mary. It's what......my Aquamarine always called me."  
>"Okay Mary, I need to ask you some questions. Do you regret what you did to those organic aliens?"  
>Mary's eyes narrowed, resolve building inside of her. "No, I don't. They deserved nothing less for what they did to my partner. If your gem, if Yellow Diamond, were hurt or destroyed, wouldn't you do whatever you could to ensure whatever was responsible could never hurt anything else ever again?" Mary gestured towards Yellow Diamond as she posed her question to Sunlight.  
>Sunlight's eyes widened a bit at the question. She turned to look up at Yellow Diamond before turning back towards Mary. "Yeah. You're right, I would do anything to protect Yellow from harm, or from further harm."  
>"It still doesn't make what you did any less impactful, Mary." Sunlight said sternly after a brief pause. "Even if it was justifiable, an entire world lies lifeless because of your actions."  
>Mary's face fell a bit. She clutched a pendant hanging around her neck. "Just do it already. I know what's coming, get it over with."  
>Sunlight paused for a bit, looking at Yellow and Blue. Both nodded to the girl. She turned back to look at Mary.  
>"Mary, your transgressions and the resulting loss of life are regrettable. However, destroying a gem who shows such loyalty to the one she was paired with seems like a horrible waste. I hereby decree that you will be assigned to the efforts of restoring plant life and establishing a renewable resource farm on the planet you exterminated. You will also help capture and transport less dangerous organic lifeforms to the world, to ensure a balanced ecosystem is restored to the planet. Until these tasks are finished, you will be supervised."  
>Sunlight took a breath before she continued. "If you violate any other laws while being supervised, we will have no choice but to take immediate action. Do you accept these terms, Mary?"  
>Mary looked up at Sunlight, a smile on her face. "I accept them. Thank you, Sunlight."  
>A Blue Topaz and a Yellow Topaz appeared in the courtroom and escorted Mary out.  
>"Yellow, did I do the right thing?"  
>Before Yellow Diamond could respond, Sunlight felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Blue Diamond.  
>"I think your sentence was fair, little one. Utilizing her to fix her actions was a brilliant decision. You'll make a fine leader someday."  
>"Blue is right. I'm proud of you, Sunlight."  
>Sunlight smiled broadly. "Thank you Yellow! Thank you Blue!"  
\-------  
>Mary lifted her pendant up to her mouth as she walked down the hall with the Topazes. She whispered softly to the small blue shard held within.  
>"Aqua, I've been spared, for now. I promise, I'll make that world into something you'd be proud of."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had thought about having more than one Diamond Combat Connie here, but decided against it. Instead, this more solidly lays the groundwork for why Blue Diamond might want a Combat Connie of her own later on. 
> 
> There's at least one more part to come.


	3. The end of Mary's sentence and a new beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary has finished restoring the world she annihilated, with the help of other gems. She decides to get a new start away from Homeworld.

>Mary fluttered through the skies of the alien planet, flying high above the tops of the trees she had planted mere weeks ago. She marveled at what the scientists had been capable of, "Accelerated growth of plant life has great potential. I'm glad it helped me fix this world faster." she thought to herself.  
>Mary's pendant glowed slightly as she continued soaring over the landscape she had finished restoring. She couldn't see them, but she knew the new, more docile residence of the world were busy establishing territories and habits. She brought her pendant up to eye level. "I'm glad you're proud of my efforts Aqua. I did this all for you." a tear slid down Mary's cheek as she kissed her pendant and tucked it back under her shirt. "I wish you could have seen it yourself."   
>Mary shook off her sadness and sped back towards the vessel she had arrived on. Today was suppose to be a day of celebration. Her survey of the world was done, everything was in order. Her sentence was complete, the world had been restored and an ecosystem was in place. She could finally do something else.  
\-------  
>"You're sure Mary? You won't reconsider your choice?" Sunlight stared at the girl before her in the courtroom. The hearing was a formality to officially mark the end of her sentence, but one Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond had left to the young leader once more. A Yellow Zircon stood with a screen in her hand, recording everything that transpired.  
>"I'm certain Sunlight. Over the past six months, I've tried working with a lot of different gems. None of it felt as satisfying as when I worked alongside my Aquamarine. Working alongside other Aquamarines is just a painful reminder of who I lost. I think leaving Homeworld and taking some time to myself is the best thing for me."  
>Sunlight sighed, then smiled at Mary. "I confess, I am disappointed you're leaving Homeworld society. Know you will always be welcome back to us with open arms as long as I am around. Even if I have to start my own court to make that happen. Have you given any thought on where you'll go?"  
>"I have. I'll be heading to Earth, I hear the local population of organics there is intelligent and friendly, mostly. I've also heard other gems have made new lives for themselves there, so might as well start there and see if it can do the same for me."  
>"Earth? I heard Yellow talk about it a few times, it sounds like a lovely place. You should stop by Beach City, I hear a boy named Steven lives there, in a large temple that looks like a gem fusion. He's suppose to be the offspring of Pink Diamond and a human, but I've never seen him myself."  
>"A human Diamond hybrid? Sounds intriguing, I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks for everything, Sunlight." Mary gave a curtsy as a sign of gratitude, a smile on her face.  
>Take care of yourself Mary. I hope to see you again someday."  
\-------  
>Mary arrived on Earth in a tiny blue ship, styled after a Roaming Eye, landing on the beach of Beach City, in front of a large temple, a small house built into the area below the head. "So, this is where this Steven supposedly lives? Looks cozy, but very small for the living space of a Diamond." Mary thought to herself as she looked at the image on her display. "May as well check it out, I have nothing to lose."  
>She fluttered out of her vessel, hovering over the sandy beach. She saw the door of the house open, a small figure running towards her eagerly.  
>"Hello, and welcome to Earth! My name's Steven. Do you have a name of your own, or are you fine going by Combat Connie?" the boy smiled at Mary.   
>"Hi Steven, I go by Mary. I'm surprised you came to greet me, and that you know what I am."   
>"Of course I came to greet you and know what you are! My best friend Connie is the one you girls were based off of! It's nice to meet you Mary. So what brings you to Earth?"  
>Mary thought for a moment, wondering how much she should tell the young boy. She settled on telling him a partial truth. "I came to Earth to start a new life Steven. I guess you could say Homeworld holds nothing for me anymore. Might as well find a place that can satisfy my wants, right?"  
>Steven could sense there was more to things than Mary wanted to share, but he didn't want to press her for details. She'd talk about it when she was ready. "So where do you want to start? I could help you out if you want."  
>Mary looked at Steven in surprise. "You would spend your precious time helping me? Don't you have more important things to attend to?"  
>"Not really, most days I watch TV or play games, hang out with friends. You know, typical Earth stuff."  
>"O-oh, I see. Well, to start I think a place to stay is the priority? I don't think I can live in my ship comfortably, there's barely enough room to move in there."  
>"Do you want to stay in the house while you figure something else out?" Steven pointed to his home eagerly.  
>"O-oh, thanks Steven, but I don't want to impose on anyone. I was hoping to get a place where I could be alone with my thoughts."  
>"Aww, I would have loved having a room mate. That's okay, I know just the guy to help us out! Follow me!"   
>Steven gestured to Mary as he started to run down the beach towards the city. "Steven, wait for me!" Mary called out before she flew after the boy.  
>Mary followed Steven's path through Beach City, flying high above the streets to avoid running into any of the local residents. She looked at the boy in confusion as she saw he was heading towards a building topped with a sign that looked like a human man. Mary saw two wheeled vehicles, a larger boxy one and a smaller, rounder car that sped away.  
>Mary saw Steven run up to a larger human man, his long brown hair flowing in the breeze, his upper body clad in a white tank top, his lower body clad in blue shorts. Her eyes widened a bit as she saw Steven hug the man with a smile on both of their faces. Mary landed a short distance away from the pair.  
>"Oh, there you are Mary! Mary, meet my dad, Greg Universe. Dad, meet Mary, she's new on Earth!"  
>"Nice to meet you Mary, welcome to Earth."  
>Mary's cheeks flush a bright blue as she looks at the friendly man. "N-nice to meet you too."  
>"So schtewball, what brings you and Mary to me?"  
>"Mary said she needs a place of her own to stay, her spaceship is too small to live in and she doesn't want to impose on anyone's space."  
>Greg stroked his beard as he gave it some thought. "She could stay in the car wash while we try and get her set up here in Beach City. The office should be big enough for her to be comfortable in."  
>Mary spoke up in a nervous tone. "I w-won't be in the way in there?"  
>Greg smiled at the girl. "Of course you won't. I barely use the space, the van is my home sweet home. You're free to stay as long as you need to."  
>"Th-thanks. I'm going to go get my spaceship. See you around Steven!"  
>Mary sped off back towards the beach, leaving Greg and Steven alone at the carwash.  
>"She's certainly an interesting girl."  
>"Dad, can I ask for a favor?"  
>"Sure thing schtewball! What can I do for you?"  
>"Mary said Homeworld had nothing for her anymore, but I have a feeling she didn't tell me the whole truth. Combat Connies are usually paired with other gems, and really loyal towards them. I think something happened to the gem she was paired with. If she starts to open up about what happened, I need you to listen and help her with it. I could be wrong, but......."  
>"I understand schtewball. I promise I'll listen to her if she starts opening up."  
>"Thanks dad."  
\-------  
>Back on the beach, Mary sat in her ship, clutching her pendant in her left hand.   
>"Aqua, I think.......I think I'll be okay here. I hope you can forgive me for running away from Homeworld."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter I originally wanted to do as a stand alone piece, before I decided to give the events leading up to it a proper explanation. 
> 
> I'm sorry for how long it took to get this part out. I realized this needs at least one more part before I can be satisfied with it, and I'll try not to leave people waiting for it too long.


	4. Mary's day at It's a Wash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary finds herself wanting to work with Greg, to make up for imposing upon him for a place to say.

>Mary watched Greg Universe with great curiosity on her screen as she floated her ship high above the car wash. He had a strange tube in one hand and a bright yellow square in the other. She watched as he scrubbed on a wheeled object. After he stopped scrubbing the object, he used the tube to spray water all over it, washing the bubbles off of it. She watched as a human handed something green to Greg before climbing into the object and speeding off.  
>Mary brought her small vessel down as soon as she was sure the other human was gone. She landed behind the car wash and walked around the building to where Greg still stood, clothes still damp from where he had scrubbed the object.  
>"What were you doing to that object with that yellow thing?" Mary pointed to the sponge that now rested upon the ground.  
>"Oh, you saw that kiddo? That's called a sponge, the object I was scrubbing was a car. I was cleaning that person's car."  
>"Why would you do that? Shouldn't they clean their own possessions?"  
>Greg rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Some people do, but others decide to have others do it for them, paying whoever they get to do it." Greg pulled out a few bills to show Mary.  
>"So you can use these slips of paper to trade for things?"  
>"Some money is coins, but yes, you trade money for the things you want."  
>Mary thought for a moment "Are there other ways to earn money besides cleaning things?"  
>"There's a lot of things you can do to earn money Mary. Some people cook food and sell it, others provide entertainment, still others make things for other people. Plenty of things you can do. I used to create music for a living. I got a lot of money for one of my old songs recently."  
>"So why do you clean people's things if you have money from, making music was it?"  
>"To keep me busy mostly." Greg chuckled before continuing. "It's something to do during the day besides sitting around."  
>Mary looked over to the office Greg had offered to let her stay in, then back towards him. "How much do I need to trade you to stay here?"  
>"Don't worry about that kiddo, I told you you could stay as long as you needed to and I meant it."  
>"But, I need to do something! That's how it's suppose to work on Earth, right?"  
>"Oh geez. Alright Mary, I guess you can help out around the wash if you want to. Ah, there's someone now!"  
>A dark blue car drove up to the wash. Mary fluttered over to where the sponge laid and picked it up as a young woman stepped out. her long, light brown hair flowing in the wind, her pale skin a stark contrast to the dark grey shirt and black pants she wore.  
>Greg cleared his throat. "Welcome to It's a Wash! What can I do for you today?"  
>"Wash and wax please, I've got a date today. I want my vehicle to shine."  
>"Mary, you want to take care of the wash while I go get the wax? The soap and hose are over there." Greg pointed towards the bucket and hose as he looked over to the girl, still fluttering through the air on her water wings, the yellow sponge clutched in her hands.  
>"Sure, I can do that Mr. Universe!" Mary swooped over to retrieve the bucket and hose, dropping the sponge into the soapy mixture within.  
>Greg ran off towards the main building of the wash to retrieve the wax as Mary began to spray the girl's car down with the hose, fluttering over the vehicle as she let the water spray down.  
>The girl glanced up from her phone as she leaned against the nearby power pole. She gasped, almost dropping her phone in shock as she saw Mary fly around her car, soaping it up and scrubbing away. "Woah."  
>As Mary finished scrubbing the vehicle, Greg came running out of the office, wax bottle in hand. "Sorry that took so long Mary, it was buried under some old papers. How far did you get?"  
>"I just finished scrubbing the car off, hosing and waxing are left." Mary sat the bucket upon the ground and handed Greg the hose. "Here you go."  
>"Thanks kiddo." Greg began to hose the vehicle off as Mary floated through the air nearby as she wrung her shirt to squeeze the liquid out that had seeped into it.  
>Mary watched as Greg started to wax the vehicle, using a small white cloth to rub the wax onto the surface of the car. He hummed to himself as he worked, a tune Mary found herself wanting to hear more of. She was disappointed when he stopped humming, draping the cloth over his shoulder as he turned to the customer.  
>"There, how's that look?" Greg asked, a wide smile on his face.  
>"It looks great, thank you so much. How much do I owe you?"  
>"A wash and a wax is ten bucks."  
>"I can't wait to tell my friends about this place, keep the change!" The woman handed Greg some cash before climbing into her car and driving off.  
>Greg looked down at the twenty dollar bill in his hands, smiling as he put it in his wallet and pulled out a ten. "Here Mary, this is for you." Greg offered the money to Mary.  
>"I can't take that, it's your business! All I did was scrub on one car."  
>"You did more than that Mary, I think she was captivated by watching you fly around. I get the feeling I'm going to be busy the next few days with people coming to see you for themselves. You did half the work, you should get half of what she gave me."  
>"Th-thanks Mr. Universe." Mary took the money and held it in her hand. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, maybe I could help you out? At least for a little bit."  
>Greg smiled at Mary. "Only if you want to kiddo."  
>"Hey, Mr. Universe? What was that you were humming while you waxed the car?"  
>"One of my old songs. I like reminiscing about them sometimes, helps me create new melodies."  
>Mary fiddled with her skirt a bit as she landed on the ground. "Can-can I hear your songs? I liked how that one sounded."  
>Greg smiled at the girl. "Sure kiddo, I've got some records and tapes in my van."  
>The pair walked over to the back of Greg's van. He rummaged through the pile of records and tapes before he found what he was looking for. "Here it is!" he exclaimed proudly before moving towards the front of the van to plug the tape in.  
>Music began to play through the van. Mary recognized it as the tune Greg was humming to himself as he had worked. "Some say that I have no direction, that I'm a light-speed distraction, but that's a knee-jerk reaction."  
>The song continued to play through the van. Mary found herself wanting to hum along with the tune as it drew to a close.  
>"So what'd you think Mary?"  
>"I loved it! Is there more?"  
>"A lot more where that came from." Greg pressed the play button once more. The pair sat and listened to Greg's old songs for the rest of the evening, taking two breaks to attend to the other two people who stopped at the wash that day.  
>As Greg began to lock down the wash at the end of the day, he looked over at Mary. "You want to get something to eat kiddo?"  
>"That's okay Mr. Universe, as a gem, I don't need to eat. I'm going to stay here and get comfortable."  
>Greg chuckled a bit. "Alright kiddo, I'll bring you something back to try anyways. You might not need to eat, but you might find you enjoy it anyways. I'll leave you to it." He wandered off towards town, lost in thought about what he wanted to eat.  
>Mary made her way into the office portion of the wash. A small white mattress was laid out upon the floor, blankets and pillows piled in the center. Mary smiled to herself as she sat down on the mattress and pulled her pendant out.  
>"Today was an interesting experience Aqua. I wish you could have heard the songs I heard today, they were wonderful. I can't wait to see what else Earth has to offer."  
>Mary kissed her pendant before tucking it away again. She spread the sheets out over the bead, crawled under them, placed a pillow under her head, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep under the covers, remembering all the times she had rested side by side with her Aquamarine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how I said it'd take one more chapter to really get everything I wanted to out? As I wrote the intended final chapter, I realized I needed to describe why she was working at the car wash in the first place, and why they were so busy. I couldn't find it in me to not explain it, my mind wouldn't allow me to omit the how of what had lead them there. Thus this chapter was born. 
> 
> Considering this started off as a simple idea, I'm surprised at myself on how much I've ended up writing for it. At least one more chapter to go, but I know better than to say it's the last one, I might get inspiration off of it to go further. I hope you're all enjoying the ride.


	5. A half day and a full surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg closes the car wash early to show something to Mary.

>It had been a week since Mary had begun working at Greg's car wash, It's a Wash. Word had spread quickly to the nearby towns, people had been taking side trips on their vacations just to see the flying blue girl who washed cars in Beach City. Local businesses were flourishing from the increase in tourism. The town as a whole was beginning to reach out to some of the gems who had stayed local after being healed, to see if arrangements could be made with them in exchange for a few hours of work each day.  
>In the meantime, people were still more than content to go out of their way to see Mary at the car wash. Greg hummed a tune to himself as he counted the cash that had come in over the last week. He looked over at Mary, storing the buckets for the day and sighed. He wished she'd take more pay than what she was. A flash of inspiration hit Greg as he thought of something that could benefit more than just Mary.   
>"Hey Mary, kiddo? I'm heading out to talk to some people about something. Do you need anything before I go?"  
>"No thanks Mr. Universe, I've got things covered here! You go have fun, I'll see you tomorrow!" Mary gave Greg a happy wave as she placed the bucket into the storage area.  
>Greg smiled to himself as he headed into town, a spring in his step.  
\-------  
>A few days later, Greg cleared his throat as he gently placed a hand on Mary's shoulder. It had been a slower day, the first they'd had in a long time. "Mary, let's close up early today, we're not that busy. I've got something I want you to see."  
>Mary looked at Greg, a mix of confusion and curiosity on her face. "Are you sure Mr. Universe? We could still get a late rush coming in."  
>Greg smiled at the girl. "Don't worry kiddo, one missed rush isn't the end of the world."  
>Mary hesitated before she started helping Greg store the washing supplies, making sure the water had been dumped out of all the buckets and the items placed neatly in the storage closet.   
>Greg hummed as he walked away from the car wash and down the street. Mary fluttered behind him, excitement and nervousness building within her. She looked at the unfamiliar buildings around her, she'd never been to this part of town before. "Mr. Universe, where are we going? There's no restaurants or shops this way, are there?"   
>"You'll see shortly kiddo."  
>The pair continued to move further away from the wash. The buildings around them began looking older and older, fewer and fewer lights were turned on in the windows around them. Mary's excitement began to dwindle as they walked into an area with no lights on in the windows, nervousness taking hold of her more and more.   
>She stopped following behind Greg, fluttering in one spot as she looked at the man's back in fear, placing her hand over her chest gem and the pendant that rested beneath. "Mr. Universe......why are the houses so empty around here?"   
>Greg could hear the fear in her voice. He frowned to himself as he turned around and faced the girl. "Mary, I promise, nothing bad is going to happen here. We're almost there, and I really don't want to ruin the surprise."  
>Mary lowered her hand from her chest. "Okay.....okay, I trust you." Mary clenched and opened her hands repeatedly in an attempt to calm herself. Deep down, she knew Greg would never hurt her, but the lingering doubt, the need to stay alert on missions still ran through her mind.  
>As the pair turned the corner, Mary gasped as she caught sight of a lovely light blue house, in much better condition than the surrounding homes. Greg smiled as he turned back around. "Here we are kiddo. Welcome to your new home."  
>"My.....home? Mr. Universe, what do you mean? I-I haven't bought anything!"  
>Greg gently rested his right hand upon the girl's left shoulder. "Mary, the town got together and talked with the mayor a few days ago. You've brought a lot of business to the town this past week and a half, we wanted to show you our appreciation. This whole section of homes is now reserved for gems looking for a home on Earth, and it's only right you get one all to yourself."  
>Tears ran down Mary's cheeks as she pulled Greg into a hug. "Thank you Mr. Universe! Thank you so much!" her cheeks flushed a darker blue as she pulled away from Greg a bit. "Would, would you show me around, and maybe help me settle in?"  
>Greg smiled at the girl. "I'd love to kiddo. We'll take a day off to furnish this place soon, I'll help you pick out and move what you want. For now, let me show you around!" Greg fiddled with his key ring a bit before he removed a house key from it. He unlocked the front door of the single story home, then placed the key in Mary's hand. "I have a spare key to the place, but try not to lose your key, you'll need it to get into your home if you lock it upon leaving."  
>Mary smiled widely as she placed the key in her pocket. She unsummoned her wings, her feet touching down upon the ground gently. She wanted to really feel what entering her new home was like.  
>The pair walked into a mostly empty living room, a light green couch fixated in the middle of the room, facing a small desk. A large, boxy TV sat upon the desk, a few tapes stacked up near it. "I hope you don't mind, I gave you some of my old furniture to get you started, and included a few movies you might like watching in your free time!"  
>Mary walked past Greg and slowly towards the couch. She sat down upon it briefly before standing back up. "It's really soft. Are all couches this soft?"  
>"Some are harder than others kiddo, you'll have a chance to try more out later. Look, here's the kitchen!" Greg quickly moved into a pale white room. A black stove and a large red refrigerator sat opposite of each other, tall brown counters framing both, cabinets empty above them.  
>"I know you don't need to eat Mary, but if you ever wanted to try making your own food, this is the perfect place to do it!"   
>Mary ran her hand along the counter. "Do you know someone that could teach me how to cook? I'd like to try it sometime."  
>"Sure thing kiddo, I'll set you up with a few of the local chefs, and I think Steven and Pearl could help out too."  
>"Thanks Mr. Universe. What else is in this house?"   
>"Oh right! I've saved the best for last, follow me!" Greg walked out of the kitchen and through the living room into a small hallway. Mary walked quickly behind him, pausing briefly to marvel at the softness of the carpet in the hall compared to the hard floors of the kitchen and the living room. She'd have to see if it was possible to get the softer material in the rest of the house.   
>Greg opened one of the four doors at the end of the hallway and smiled. "Here you go kiddo, the master bedroom." Mary's eyes widened as she saw a large, luxurious bed resting in the middle of the room, thick, soft, blue blankets spread neatly across its surface, with three large pillows at the head of the bed. Mary ran her hand along the blue blankets. "It's lovely Mr. Universe. What are the other doors in this room and the hall for?"  
>Greg moved to the back of the room. "Well, this one is your closet, where you can hang up clothing you own. This other one is the bathroom, it's where humans, uh.....relieve themselves." Greg rubbed the back of his head nervously, not wanting to get into those details unless he had to. "The other three doors lead to two spare bedrooms and a guest bathroom, in case you want to invite people over to stay the night."  
>Mary perked up upon hearing that. "Mr. Universe, would you stay here tonight? It would help me adjust and sleep easier if I knew you were close by, like you are at the wash."  
>"I, uh......oh, alright kiddo, I'll stay a night or two to help you settle in." Greg ruffled the young girl's hair. "How about we go to the living room and watch one of the movies I brought over?"  
>"What's a movie?"   
>"It's a moving picture that tells a story, for entertainment purposes."  
>"So it's like a hologram recording?"   
>Greg shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, you can tell me how similar they are after we watch a few together."  
>The pair proceeded back to the living room and sat upon the couch, watching old TV shows and laughing together until the daylight receded from the sky. Mary had fallen asleep on the couch, curled up next to Greg.  
>Greg gently picked the girl up and carried her in his arms, laying her gently upon the bed. He tucked Mary in and whispered. "Goodnight kiddo. Hope you have sweet dreams."  
>Greg made his way back to the living room and out the front door, off to get some food for his stay at Mary's new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I fought with the original idea a bit, then decided I really didn't like how it went, so I chose to do the scene of Mary getting her house first while I straiten the other scene in my head. 
> 
> Again, not putting a definitive X number of chapters to do, but there is at least one thing I still want Mary to do before I close the story out. Whether it's done in one chapter, two, or more, I'll get there.


	6. In the grips of the night

>Greg walked into Mary's new home quietly, groceries in his arms. He slipped his sandals off of his feet to reduce the noise he would make moving through the house, taking great care to move towards the kitchen as quietly as he could. He didn't want to disturb Mary's sleep if it could be avoided.  
>He placed the bags gently upon the counter and began sifting through the bags for the stuff that needed to be refrigerated. He placed a pack of hotdogs, some shredded cheese, a gallon of milk, and some soda in the fridge. He then placed a few cans of soup and some canned vegetables in the pantries, and a bag of hot dog buns and some cereal on top of the fridge. It was more than Greg planned to eat in those few days, but he wanted to make sure there was enough for Mary and him in case she wanted to eat a meal with him.   
>Greg turned the kitchen light off behind him as he made his way out of the kitchen, moving slowly through the living room and into the hallway of the home, the chill of the wood floors fading as he stepped onto the carpet of the hall. He fumbled through the darkness, hand along the wall to follow it to one of the spare bedrooms.   
>Greg arrived at the door to the guest bedroom closest to Mary's room. He began to turn the doorknob slowly when he heard it. Muffled moaning and movement coming from Mary's room. He hesitated for a bit before he decided to check on the girl.   
>Greg opened the door to Mary's room as quietly as he could. He peeked his head into the room and looked upon the bed. His eyes widened at what he saw.   
>The sheets had been tossed off the bed. Mary's small body was squirming, her arms and legs thrashing wildly as she mumbled in her sleep. Her gem was glowing brilliantly, bathing the room in a pale blue light. A bow laid upon the floor near the foot of Mary's bed.   
>Greg realized Mary was likely having a nightmare. He moved slowly closer. As he approached, her muttering became clearer.   
>"No, please don't leave me, please stay with me Aqua, no no no, please no, come back to me." Mary moaned in her sleep, sweat beading down her body. Greg noticed Mary was clutching something in her right hand in her sleep, something attached to a simple chain.   
>Greg crouched down next to Mary. He knew waking someone up from a nightmare was a bad idea, all he could do was try and soothe her without waking her. He began lightly humming one of Mary's favorite songs as he waited, the tune to "Like a Comet."  
>Greg's humming seemed to calm her down. Mary stopped muttering in her sleep, her movements calmed down as she thrashed less and less. Her gem stopped glowing, her bow dissipated in blue sparkles, the room going dark once more. Mary's right hand remained clutched around the object around her neck.   
>Greg shrugged his shoulders before he reached down towards the sheet crumpled in the floor. He gently covered Mary back up before leaving her room, ready to get some sleep himself.  
\-------  
>Mary woke up, her body slightly sore. She winced as she opened her right hand, pain shooting through her hand and arm as she moved her fingers. She frowned as she removed the pendant from her hand, leaving behind an impression from where she had clutched it so tightly in her sleep.   
>Mary sighed as she tucked her pendant back under her shirt to rest near her gem again. She hummed the tune to "Like a Comet as she made her way out of her room.  
>As she moved down the hall, she heard the sound of something clinking against something else. She slowed her movements and began moving quietly through the hall. She wasn't sure what was making the noise, but she'd be ready for it.  
>As she peeked her head out from the edge of the hallway and glanced around. The clinking sound had stopped, the house was quiet again. Mary cautiously moved towards the kitchen.  
>As she moved closer to the kitchen, relief washed over her. She saw the source of the noise, Greg was standing at the counter pouring a white liquid into a bowl.   
>Greg looked over at the girl as she entered the kitchen. "Good morning Mary. Would you like some cereal kiddo?"   
>"No thanks Mr. Universe. Where did the food come from and how did I get in bed?"  
>"Couldn't leave you sleeping on the couch kiddo, that'd be bad for you. I took you to your room and went out to pick up some food for the evenings I'll be staying here. There's plenty of it if you change your mind, I won't be able to eat it all."  
>Mary smiled. "Okay, I'll keep it in mind."  
>Greg opened the refrigerator door and placed the milk jug back into the fridge. "Did you sleep okay, kiddo?"  
>"I sure did Mr. Universe. It was.....was....." Mary faltered before she shook her head. She couldn't follow through with her lie. "No, no I didn't." Mary shuffled her feet nervously before she continued. "Mr. Universe, can I talk to you about my dream?"  
>Greg smiled at the girl. "Of course you can kiddo. Would you like to sit down on the couch while we talk?"  
>"Yeah, I think sitting would be best for both of us."  
>The pair walked out of the kitchen and sat upon the couch. Mary sighed before she began.   
>"I was dreaming about.....something bad that happened to me. I lost someone very close to me back when I was still working for Homeworld. She was my partner, my friend, someone who always took care of me. She was my Aquamarine. She.....died right in front of me."  
>Mary shuddered at the memory, tears running down her face as she paused to cry. Greg placed a hand gently on Mary's shoulder. "Kiddo....nobody should ever have to see that. I'm sorry you're having dreams about it. Is there something that's making you think of what happened more than you usually do?"  
>"N-no, I a-always have it on m-my m-mind. I c-can't stop thinking about it, those awful monsters, her form breaking apart! I c-can't st-stop thinking about what would have happened if they had, had gotten m-me."  
>Greg pulled Mary in close. "It's okay kiddo, it's okay. You're here, you're safe. They can't hurt you here."  
>"Mr. U-universe.....there was s-something different about my dream last n-night." Mary looked up at the bearded man. "You c-came along and started s-singing, it d-drove them back. U-usually th-they catch me when I h-have that dream."  
>Greg smiled. "Let me guess, I sung "Like a Comet, didn't I?"  
>Mary's eyes widened in shock. "How......how did you know?"  
>"It's your favorite song of mine kiddo, and I checked in on you when I heard you moaning and thrashing around. Figured humming it softly next to you couldn't hurt, sounds like it did the trick."  
>"I...don't know what to say. Thank you Mr. Universe."  
>"No problem kiddo. Anything else you want to talk about?"  
>Mary hesitated for a moment. "Promise you won't freak out?"  
>"I promise Mary."  
>Mary took a deep breath and pulled out her pendant, the shard resting in the palm of her hand. "I think....maybe this is contributing to my dreams. Mr. Universe, this is......all I have left of Aquamarine."  
>"You mean that's?" Greg swallowed hard. "Kiddo, carrying that around, it's not good for you long term. I'm sure she would have wanted you to be happy and not dwell on her death so much."  
>Mary's head hung low. "I know she would. I know and yet.....I can't let go."  
>Greg thought for a moment before he got an idea. "Mary, I think you and I are going to forget about work and go on a trip today. There's somewhere you need to see."  
>Mary looked up at Greg. "Are you sure we should? I-I can work, if you're worried about that."  
>"It's not about whether you can work kiddo. I think seeing this place would do you a lot of good. I won't force you to go if you don't want to."  
>Mary thought for a moment before she shook her head. "No, I want to go, I want to see whatever place you have in mind."  
>"Glad to hear it kiddo. I need to finish my breakfast first, then we'll get going."  
>Greg hastily finished his bowl of cereal and placed the empty bowl in the sink. The pair left the house and locked the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had this finished two days ago on my phone and forgot to transfer it to post it until I went to work on the story on a work break today. Whoops. I hope it's not too obvious what's going to happen in the next chapter.


	7. A place to remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg leads Mary to a place that's important to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the 13th to the 20th, I had zero time at work to work on this, and little energy in the evening to finish this in one sitting. The week was utterly ridiculous with twelve hour shifts each day. I prefer writing a story all at once if I'm home. Still, the ideas I was able to jot down in the free moments helped me finish this at long last.

>Mary and Greg made their way through Beach City, Greg leading the way while Mary fluttered behind him. The streets laid empty, most people still asleep in their homes or still opening up their business for the day.  
>Confusion built up in Mary the more places they passed. Ultimately, they found themselves walking on the beach towards Steven's house, where Mary had first landed her ship.  
>"Mr. Universe, why are we going to where Steven lives?" curiosity filled Mary's voice as they grew closer to the house.  
>"We'll need to use the warp pad to get where we're going kiddo. I hope one of them is home.  
>Greg slowly opened the door to the home. His heart sank a bit as he looked around and realized nobody was in the house itself, not even Steven.  
>He was about to tell Mary the bad news when he noticed a blue lily sitting upon the counter. "Hmm? When did they get that?" Greg cautiously stepped over towards the flower, Mary fluttering behind him. His eyes widened a bit as he spotted a piece of paper under the potted flower.  
>"Where is everyone, Mr. Universe?"  
>"I don't know kiddo, but maybe this does." Greg gently removes the page from under the flower and begins to read aloud.  
>"Greg, if you're reading this, my future vision was right and you noticed the flower. There's a warp whistle sitting next to the warp pad. Use it to get where you need to go. Take the flower with you. -Garnet-"  
>Greg grabbed the flower in one hand, he knew better than to question something Garnet said, or in this case wrote. He walked over towards the warp pad, noticing the thin silver whistle sitting to the left as he drew closer. "Guess they had to go on a mission kiddo, but at least they left us a way to get where we're going. Come on."  
>Mary landed upon the warp pad, moving in as close to Greg as she could get. Greg closed his eyes and envisioned the destination he had in mind before he blew the whistle. The warp flared to life, a weightless sensation overcoming them as their bodies lifted off the ground and entered the warp stream.  
>The pair landed upon a warp pad. Greg smiled as he looked upon the green hillside, pink flowers spread out along it. He stuffed the whistle in his pocket then looked down upon Mary. "It's this way kiddo. You'll know where we're going when we get close enough."  
>Greg began walking along the lovely green hillside. Mary fluttered behind him, taking in the different scenery, staring at the lovely pink blooms on the occasional tree they passed. The pink flowers along the landscape became more numerous and closer together as they continued. Mary found herself wondering why they were climbing upwards more than they were downwards, but she trusted Greg knew where he was going.  
>Mary's mouth dropped open as she noticed a large pink object in the distance, the lower parts of it covered in green growth studded by more of the pink flowers. The landscape turning rocky and jutting up sharply. "Mr. Universe, what is that thing in the distance? Is that where we're going?"  
>Greg looked back at Mary and smiled. "I'll tell you what it is when we get there, but it is where we're heading.".  
>The pair stood at the base of the cliff, looking sharply up at the pink object. Nearby, a thin trail led up the cliff, the marks upon the rocks fresh and crisp. Greg rubbed the back of his head. "The gems made this path for me to get up, but it'll still take a while to get up it. If you want, you can get a closer look at things around while I make my way up."  
>Mary smiled as an idea came to her. "I've got a better idea Mr. Universe, it'll be faster if I carry you."  
>"Yeah it wou- wait, what?! Mary, that's okay, you don't have to- woahwoahwaitaminute!" Greg cried out as two tiny blue arms wrapped around him, his protests spilling out as he felt the air rush around his body as they ascended strait up the cliff side.  
>Mary sat Greg down at the top of the cliff, next to the large pink object. Mary giggled. "See? Much faster than walking! Now will you please tell me what this thing is and why it's important?"  
>"Just......give me a minute kiddo. My heart is racing from the flight." Greg panted, his right hand propping his body up off the ground as he heaved, his left hand still wrapped around the blue flower in the pot tightly. Greg stayed on the ground for a few moments before he stood up, still sweating and panting a bit. "Okay, I think my heart's settled down a bit. Please, warn me next time you do something like that kiddo."  
>Mary wrung her hands together and hung her head a bit. "Sorry Mr. Universe, I didn't mean to scare you."  
>"It's okay kiddo, I know you were excited to get up here and hear about what this place is." Greg cleared his throat before continuing. "What you see before you is the remains of Pink Diamond's palanquin."  
>Mary looked at Greg in confusion. "Why......is this place important then? Pink Diamond is-" realization dawned on Mary. "Oh, oh I see....."  
>"I never knew her as Pink Diamond, only as Rose Quartz, but I loved her all the same. Not a day goes by where I don't miss her, but I know she'd hate me dwelling on the past too much." Greg chuckled to himself, smiling. "I wonder what she'd have said if she knew Blue Diamond came here to mourn for her while she was still alive."  
>Mary looked at Greg curiously. "Wait, my Diamond came here? I mean-" Mary covered her mouth a bit at her slip up.  
>"I had a feeling you worked with her somehow, it's okay kiddo. I know it's hard not to think of her as your leader, even light years away from her. She did come here though, I saw her myself. Boy, that was a crazy weekend, she took me off to a zoo!" Greg coughed before he continued. "I didn't know at the time, but we were sharing more than the way we felt about losing someone. But, she was consumed by her grief, unable to move forward, unable to function in any way that didn't relate to the one she lost. You probably know better than I do what affect that had on her subjects."  
>Mary nodded her head. She had heard the stories about how bad Blue Diamond's court had gotten during her period of grief for Pink Diamond.  
>"I think you understand where I'm going with this, don't you kiddo? Your partner gem, Aquamarine, would have wanted you to move on too. She wouldn't want you dwelling on her death, consumed by it and not really living anymore. She'd want you to go out and experience new and exciting things, she'd want you to find happiness again."  
>Mary looked at Greg and smiled. "I think you're right. My time here on Earth has been the happiest I've felt since she....since I lost her. You've helped me more than you might realize, Mr. Universe. I've felt like I can really DO something important here, instead of going through the motions of something that needed to be done. Thank you."  
>Greg rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Gee, I don't know if I've done all that much kiddo, but you're welcome. I hope this little trip has made you feel better. Come on, let's get back to Beach City."  
>"Wait, Mr. Universe? Can I have that flower?"  
>Greg smiled as he passed the potted blue flower to Mary. "Here you go kiddo. What are you going to do?"  
>Mary unsummoned her wings, her feet landing gently on the ground before she knelt down. She reached under her shirt, clutched the pendant firmly, and pulled it off her body, the chain breaking as she pulled. "I'm going to.....put her to rest." Tears started falling from Mary's eyes as she clawed at the ground, moving the dirt with her bare hands.  
>"Do you want some help there kiddo?"  
>"Thank you, but no. I want to do this myself." Mary continued to scoop dirt out, creating a small hole, big enough to set the flower in. She dropped the pendant in the hole before removing the plant from its pot and setting it down on top.  
>Tears continued rolling off her face as she moved some of the dirt to fill in the rest of the whole. "Goodbye Aqua, I'll always miss you. I'll always remember you fondly. I hope you can be at peace now."  
>Greg placed his hands on Mary's shoulders quietly as the girl remained crouched over the flower, the lone speck of blue in the sea of green and pink.  
>After a half hour of silence, Mary stood up, her tears no longer falling, her body shaking a bit. "I....I think I'm ready to go home now."  
>Greg smiled at the girl. "I'm proud of you kiddo. You can always come back and see her sometime, if you need to. She's only a warp away."  
>"Thanks Mr. Universe."  
>"Are you okay to fly, or walk? I can carry you if you need me to."  
>"I think I can manage to walk. I'm curious about this path the gems made for you anyways, in case I decide not to fly the next time I'm here. Lead the way Mr. Universe."  
>The pair enjoyed a leisurely stroll down the mountain taking in more of the view as they made their way down. Greg hoped this would be enough to stop Mary's nightmares as he lead the way back to the warp pad.  
>Mary found herself looking forward to trying new things, to really living and finding what she enjoyed the most. She owed it to herself to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's with mixed feelings that I post this chapter. This is the last thing I had in mind for Mary and her Aquamarine, and marks the end of the original idea I had. The original story was going to be a brief meeting between Mary and Greg, learning to trust each other and growing closer, and then Greg helping her bury her Aquamarine's shards on the beach. It surprises me how far the story evolved from that idea, from my thoughts on how the two would even meet to begin with, the thoughts of how Mary's Aquamarine died in the first place. I'm not ashamed to admit, I teared up a bit when I was writing this chapter. 
> 
> You might notice I didn't mark the series as done. I have one more thing planned for Mary right now, something that doesn't involve her Aquamarine. That one more thing might turn into more. I also want to ask, what scenarios do you, the readers, want to see her in? I'd love to keep this going for a while longer.


	8. Steven's surprise for Mary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary waits for Steven and his surprise in the arcade. Someone mistakes Mary for someone else.

>Mary hummed to herself as she pressed the buttons on the arcade machine furiously, completely absorbed in dodging the barrels hurling at her car, her feet firmly on the floor. Ever since she buried the last piece of her Aquamarine, she had spent more time hanging out around Beach City and around the Crystal Gems, Steven in particular.  
>Today, Steven had said he had a surprise for her, and that he'd meet her in the arcade when it was ready. Two rolls of quarters in her skirt pockets and a wide range of games she had never played before were enough to keep her occupied and having fun while she waited.  
>Mary groaned as she messed up, her car getting hit by a flying alligator in the game, GAME OVER flashing in red letters on a black screen. She began reaching into her pocket for more quarters to use when a shadow loomed over her.  
>Mary turned around to see a young man standing behind her, almost twice her height, his skin having a light reddish brown tint to it, his short brown hair neatly combed back on his head. A red scarf hung around his neck on top of a blue blazer, black jeans covering his legs.  
>"I thought that was your voice I heard. Hey kid, remember me? Remember how you and your friend screwed me over at the party?!" The young male spoke angrily, clutching Mary's shirt with both hands and lifting her off the floor. "And what's with this outfit, your skin, and your hair?! You trying to hide from someone? Too bad for you, I never forget a face."  
>Mary gritted her teeth, annoyed that this human had interrupted her fun with weird accusations. "Look human, I don't know who you are or who you think I am, but if you don't put me down RIGHT now, you're going to regret it!" Mary's eyes and gem glowed a bright blue as her wings spawned behind her body.  
>"Oh no you don't! You owe me big time and I intend to collect! You and your little boyfriend think you're so cool, don't you?! These freaky tricks won't work this time!" The boy sneered as he slammed Mary into the floor full force back first. Mary gasped and cried out in pain at the sudden impact, the breath forced out of her body, her wings breaking apart at the impact.  
>Mary's wings reformed as the boy lifted her up for another slam. Mary's eyes glowed once more as she regained her focus, digging her nails into the boy's arms, clawing at them. Blood trickled down his arms, staining his long blue sleeves. Mary fluttered her wings as she hovered in front of the boy. "This is your last chance, leave, NOW! Before I make you leave!"  
>"YOU LITTLE BRAT! This shirt was brand new!" The boy lunged forward, Mary flapped her wings to dodge. She wasn't fast enough, the boy's fingers dug into her left ankle, his fingernails tearing at her skin, causing a light blue trickle of synthetic blood to run down her foot, a sharp pain shooting up her leg.  
>"That's it, I warned you!" Mary's eyes narrowed as her gem glowed brightly, her blue bow materializing from her gem into her waiting hands.  
>"Woah, what the?! Since when could you do that!?" The boys face went pale as Mary pulled the string back, an arrow of blue light materializing on the string.  
>As Mary prepared to let the arrow loose at the boy, two smaller figures entered the arcade. "I promise Connie, you're going to like her, she's really-wait, Kevin? Mary?!" Steven shouted out as he rushed towards the pair.  
>"Wait, THAT'S Mary?!" Connie looked up at her blue doppelganger in disbelief, eyeing the bow she held intently and the scared look upon Kevin's face. Connie knew how much of a jerk Kevin could be, but even he didn't deserve to be skewered for it.  
>Steven leapt in front of Kevin, his shield out, as Mary released her arrow towards the snobby boy. The arrow clanged upon Steven's shield before disintegrating.  
>Mary's eyes widened as she caught sight of Steven. "Steven?! Oh my gosh, I, I'm, why did you do that?!"  
>"I should be asking YOU that Mary! You can't go around killing people, even if they are huge jerks!" Steven motioned towards Kevin, his crotch wet from where he had peed himself in fear. The young man took the opportunity to scurry away quickly on his hands and knees.  
>Mary faltered as she landed. "But, he, he was! He hurt me Steven, he slammed me into the ground! I, I couldn't stand the pain, m-my instincts they......."  
>Steven sighed as he placed a hand on Mary's shoulder. "Mary, you can't do this again, okay? We need to talk to Garnet and Pearl about teaching you control over your emotions."  
>"Th-that's fair. Sorry about.....all of this." Mary hung her head in shame as she finished speaking.  
>"I can sympathize with her feelings Steven. I remember a time when I wanted to skewer him too." Connie smiled as she walked up to the pair, taking her place next to Steven.  
>Mary's eyes widened when she caught sight of Connie. "You......you're the one, aren't you? The one my kind are all based off of. I never thought I'd get to meet you." Mary's hands shot up in the diamond salute as she knelt before the young girl.  
>Connie looked over towards Steven with concern on her face. Steven looked back at Connie and shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to do.  
>"You don't have to salute or kneel Mary. I don't want that type of relationship between us."  
>Mary looked up at Connie in confusion. "You don't? But, you're directly above me, you're part of the reason I exist!"  
>"Mary, stop, please. I don't want a servant or a slave, I don't want you to be afraid around me. I'd like it if we could be equals, if we could be friends. You're not on Homeworld, things work differently on Earth. Doesn't that sound nice to you too?" Connie extended her left hand towards Mary, a smile on her face.  
Mary's hand shook as she grabbed onto Connie's hand and stood up. "Y-you really mean that? You.....want to be my friend?"  
>"Of course I do! I bet we have a lot in common."  
>"Oh my gosh, I knew you two would get along!" Steven smiled widely as he looked upon the two girls. "Come on, forget about the unpleasantness that happened here. Let's go have fun! "  
>The trio left the arcade, Steven smiling widely as Mary and Connie walked behind him.  
>"Friends......oh Aqua, I hope you'd be proud of me." Mary thought to herself as she looked at Steven and then over towards Connie. "I promise, I'll learn to control my emotions, for them. For the sake of my new friend. For the sake of Connie."


	9. A past presented

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary follows up on her plan to talk to Garnet and Pearl about her anger problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while. This story was finished last Wednesday, but my computer broke down and started smoking before I could post it. Worked some voluntary overtime to offset the cost of my new computer.

>A few days after the incident in the arcade, Steven had arrived at his father's car wash. Mary was sitting back in a chair next to Greg, both taking a break while the wash wasn't busy. "Hey Dad, hey Mary, how are things going today?"  
>Greg smiled at his son "Been a slow day schtewball, but we're getting by."  
>"Steven, what brings you by here? Did you want to talk for a bit?" Mary's voice wavered a bit as she asked her question. She had an idea of why Steven was really there.  
>"Mary, I do want to talk, but so do Garnet and Pearl. Dad, I hate to take your helper, but this is important."  
>Greg sat up as he looked at his son and then Mary in confusion. "Did something big happen Steven? Mary, do you know what's going on?"  
>Mary fidgeted nervously. "Mr. Universe, I'm sorry for not telling you, but I had......some problems with someone a few days ago and lost my temper. When I get mad, I.....do things that might hurt people. Steven suggested a talk with Pearl and Garnet a few days ago, he thinks they might be able to help me get my temper under control."  
>Steven smiled after Mary finished speaking. "I'm proud of you for talking about this Mary, it shows you're really wanting to change. I'm sure the gems will be able to help you out, and Connie's waiting for you too! Everything's going to be fine."  
>Mary perked up when she heard Connie was going to be there. Greg shrugged his shoulders before smiling, reaching over to ruffle Mary's hair gently. "I don't quite get it, but if you feel you need to do this, you should do it kiddo. Don't worry about me, I can work the wash until you work through your problems. Good luck kiddo."  
>Mary summoned her wings and fluttered out of her chair. "Thanks Mr. Universe. Alright Steven, let's go."   
>Steven gave his father a quick hug before he left the wash. "Thanks for understanding dad. I'll see you again soon, I promise."  
>Steven led the way from the wash to his home, Mary fluttering nervously behind him. She had agreed to seek the help of gems she barely knew, and was beginning to have worries about it. Still, she had to do something, she couldn't risk hurting Steven, Connie, Mr. Universe, or anyone else she grew to care about if she last her temper again. She had to make sure her new friends would be safe, even from herself.   
>Steven jumped up onto his porch and opened the front door to his home, eagerly walking in. Mary fluttered behind him and pulled the door closed behind her. She then turned her attention to the people in the room.  
>The first thing she noticed was Connie, sitting on the couch reading a book, a smile on her face. Next to her sat a small orange girl, her body clad in a pinkish orange dress, her hands covered in white gloves, an orange gem rested on the back of her right hand. Her hair covered where her eyes should be, and had a messy curved look, with a few tufts of hair sticking out on top of her hair to form a crown shape.   
>Sitting at the counter in the kitchen were Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst. Mary hadn't talked with any of them much, but she at least knew who they were. She looked back towards the unfamiliar gem, a mix of curiosity and fear growing within her.   
>Connie looked up from her book as she heard the door close, her smile growing wider as she spotted Mary. She placed her book down upon the counter and rushed to the girl and pulled her into a hug. "Mary, it's good to see you again! I'm so glad you followed through and came here today, everything's going to be alright, I promise."  
>"It's good to see you too Connie. Having you here makes me feel better about....well, all of this." Mary turned her attention towards Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. "It's good to see you three too. Garnet, Pearl, thank you for agreeing to help me with my......anger issues."  
>"Oh don't worry Mary, I'm always happy to train new students! A good fighter keeps their emotions in balance." Pearl smiled widely at Mary, memories of her time training Connie coming back to her mind. She was secretly looking forward to giving Mary more specific instructions.  
>Amethyst smiled before she spoke. "Don't worry so much about all this, you'll be fine. Garnet and Pearl always come through with things like this."  
>Garnet nodded her head solemnly. "Learning to control your emotions is important Mary, controlling your emotions will help you control your future." Garnet grabbed her visor with her right hand and adjusted it. "The first step in controlling your future, however, is to fully accept your past. For that, we've brought someone special to help out. Her name is Padparadscha, she can see the immediate past with her visions." Garnet motioned over to the orange gem still sitting on the couch.  
>Mary looked over at the gem, glad to have a name to go with her, but still confused. She had been awfully quiet the whole time.   
>Suddenly Padparadscha clapped her hands together excitedly. "I predict Garnet will finally introduce me to Mary and explain my powers, how exciting!"   
>Mary looked over at Garnet in confusion. "Uh.....I don't want to be rude, but how is she going to help me control my emotions?"  
>Garnet smiled a knowing smile. "As I said, knowing your past is key to controlling your emotions and your future. We need to see for ourselves where you've been Mary, and what led you to Earth. I'm sure you'd do your best to explain it all, but......we can't risk you leaving anything out. To achieve this, I will fuse with Padparadscha. With her vision combined with my own, we'll see everything clearly, from the moment you were created to now. Your life will be shown to everyone here. When you consent, we will begin."  
>Mary hesitated for a moment. Her whole life, out in the open? She had her reservations about this, unsure of how they'd react to her most recent actions, but she knew refusing to let them look would make the Crystal Gems unable to trust her for sure. Mary slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Okay Garnet, I'll let you guys see everything. Just......try not to be too mad at me for the two most recent losses of my temper. One was......really hard on me."  
>"We'll try to keep that in mind. Padparadscha, when you're ready, it's time to fuse, like we discussed earlier." Garnet began walking towards the orange Sapphire, already aware of how she'd answer.  
>A moment passed by before Padparadscha gasped. "Oh my, I predict Mary will agree to our plan, and that Garnet will want me to fuse with her again! Oh, how exciting!" Padparadscha stood up and turned towards Garnet. Garnet paused where she stood, giving Padparadscha time to close the gap and take Garnet's hands in her own. Garnet allowed Padparadscha to lead while they danced, their gems beginning to glow in unison as they synced their movements.  
>The light on their gems engulfed both of their forms in a pure white light, the light merging together as a new form took shape. The form was half a body taller than Garnet stood. Four thin arms sprouted from her torso, two on each side, the Sapphire gems settling upon the right hand of the higher arm, the Ruby settling on the left hand of the higher arm. Two legs sprouted below the torso, a little thicker than Garnet's legs had been A wide smile formed on the fusion's head as two rows of eyes opened up, two upper and two lower, a pink eye to the left of a purple eye, a blue eye sat under the pink while a red eye sat under the purple. The hair took form last, a large squarish shape giving way to curves along the sides, and a small tuft of hair sticking out along the flat upper part, forming a crown.   
>Color returned as the glowing faded, revealing Padparadscha's orange dress worn over Garnet's uniform, her skin a lighter shade of red, her hair a cotton candy blend of the dark red of Garnet's hair and the peach color of Padparadscha's. The fusion landed gently on the floor, leaving Steven wide eyed and smiling. Mary meanwhile, began twitching nervously. Different gem fusions were allowed on Homeworld now, but she had only seen one up close before.   
>Steven rushed up to the fusion and wrapped his arms around her left leg. "Wow, you're so cool! I haven't seen you before, what's your name."  
>The fusion smiled as she looked down at Steven. "I am Imperial Garnet, I've existed two other times. It's nice to meet you Steven." Imperial Garnet turned her gaze towards Mary, her four eyes narrowing in concentration, and held out her lower set of hands palms up. "Mary, if you would come over here and place your hands in mine, we'll begin."  
>Mary hesitated for a moment before she made her way over to Imperial Garnet, her body shaking with nervousness. As she arrived at the fusion, she looked up to her with pleading eyes. "Remember what Garnet promised. I've made mistakes, and I....want to learn to control my emotions better." She placed her hands in Imperial Garnet's upward palms.  
>Imperial Garnet placed her upper hands on top of Mary's hands, all four of the fusion's eyes beginning to glow. A projection emerged from her eyes, displaying a sequence of events to all present. At the same time, Mary's own eyes glowed a faint blue, the scenes being played behind her projected directly into her mind. The first scene was the birth of the Combat Connie project, the Diamonds meeting with Connie and her parents on the beach in front of Steven's home. Connie looked upon the scene in wonder, remembering that day and that choice well. She had pleaded with her parents approval to participate in the project, wanting to help Homeworld recover and grant companionship to the role of gems that needed it the most.   
>The scene jumped to an image of an Aquamarine, a gem resting on her left shoulder. Tears fell from Mary's eyes as she watched a scientist Nephrite scrape away at the gem, catching the little blue flakes in a small circular container. A few drops of pink liquid were applied to the gem after the process was complete. The Aquamarine rubbed her gem and smiled as she fluttered out of the lab.  
>The next scene revealed a large artificially made stone wall within another lab, a clock to show the passage of time placed nearby. The display read nine months, A Peridot standing near the wall, looking at it expectantly. Her expectations were met as the wall shook, gently at first,then more violently. Three shapes burst out of the wall, leaving behind clean silhouettes. Three Connies touched their feet to the ground, one was a purple color like an Amethyst, with a gem on her left arm, another with a green gem resting in her left hand, her gem shaped like a Nephrite's, and three eyes, one in the center of her forehead, two in a normal position. The last Combat Connie stood up shakily before her water wings sprouted from her back, a gemstone shining at her chest, shaped in a teardrop pattern that was all too familiar to Steven. The scene showed the Peridot handing each girl a data plate and speaking a few words of encouragement, the purple one leaving first with confidence, the green one shaking a bit as she left the lab. Finally the blue one remained, fluttering in the air uneasily, wobbling as she left to find her partner.   
>The scenes upon the wall began to shift more rapidly. The Combat Connie meeting the Aquamarine with her gem in her shoulder. The pair spending a week getting acquainted. Their first few missions, not quite used to each other yet. The first time the Aquamarine called her Combat Connie Mary. Mary's smile as she repeated the name out loud, pulling her Aquamarine into a hug. A few more missions passing by, showing the pair in tight spots. The first formation of Aqua's whip and Mary's bow together into the deadly compound bow. Missions of defense, missions of peace, scouting trips, it was all laid out before Pearl, Steven, Connie, and Amethyst. A full year of Mary being together with her Aquamarine, with more than a few instances of Mary losing her temper and slaughtering the things that were threatening her and Aquamarine.  
>Tears started rolling down Mary's cheeks as they came across a more recent memory, of Mary and her Aquamarine entering a thick grove of trees. The area strangely silent and devoid of movement. The Aquamarine speaking orders, passing her whip to Mary. The reveal of a sickly purple creature as the Aquamarine held it with her wand. Then the ambush happened.   
>Mary cried freely as the scene of her Aquamarine's death played out for the group to watch. She heard the gasps around her as she gave in to her anger and started ravaging the planet. She could feel Imperial Garnet shudder and shake, could feel a surge of emotions coming from her, the anger, the sorrow, the fear. The pure shock of a planet rendered completely lifeless left the room quiet.  
>The rest of the recent events played out in the projection. Mary's trial, her assistance in restoring the planet she ruined. her creation of a pendant from a lone blue shard. Her journey to Earth, her meeting Greg, her days at the car wash. A brief conversation with Garnet and Steven one time they came to see Greg. Mary's acquisition of her own home. Greg's kindness towards her. Their trip to Korea and the burial of the pendant. The recent trip to the arcade, her attempted murder of Kevin after he hurt her. The scenes rolled to a close with Mary entering the beach house.  
>Imperial Garnet released Mary's hands and took a few steps back before splitting apart. Garnet's eyes were darting around as she processed everything she had seen. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke, the first one being Padparadscha.   
>"I predict nobody will know what to say, and that everyone will have conflicting feelings. I also see I have finished my part in this. This situations is a mess, and I wish you all luck sorting it out." Padparadscha glided slowly towards the door and left the beach house, leaving the rest behind.  
>It was Amethyst that broke the silence next. "Okay, nobody else is going to say it? Mary, you're bloody frightening girl. Remind me not to prank you until AFTER Garnet and Pearl train you." Amethyst stood up and walked towards the temple door. "I'm getting out of the line of fire, no offense Mary. Good luck with....everything."  
>Mary shuffled her feet awkwardly as Amethyst left, looking around at everyone still in the room. "If you even want to train me now. I know my actions were.......extreme, but that's part of why I came here. I need help learning to control my anger. Please understand, I don't want to hurt anyone I care about, I don't ever want to lose control again."  
>Steven and Connie both walked over to Mary and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. Steven spoke first. "Mary, I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose someone so close to you. I don't......like what you did to that planet, but you fixed it! You still have good in you Mary, and I know you can learn to control your feelings better.".  
>"Steven's right, you can learn to control yourself better. I'm surprised my blood could create someone as strong as you Mary. I'll be with you, helping you learn control too when I can."  
>Pearl and Garnet both looked at the children and sighed. Pearl spoke up. "I don't like how dangerous you are Mary. If it were up to me, we'd separate you from Steven and Connie until your training was complete. I know Steven would never allow it. All the more reason to begin your training as soon as possible. I'll go gather some things, your first lesson with me begins tomorrow. I suggest you rest up for it." Pearl turned and rushed into her room in the temple, wanting to get the things she needed together as soon as possible.   
>Garnet stood up shakily and looked right at Mary. "Mary, your actions were too extreme, they were unforgivable. Fixing your mistake does not make it better. However.......I could feel how much you cared about your Aquamarine. If anything ever happened to Ruby or Sapphire.......the other would likely be consumed by rage too. It's because I felt how you felt that I'm still going to train you. This won't be easy. Until you finish training, it's best you stay here in the temple, away from as many humans as possible. I will go inform Greg of this." Garnet walked over to the door of the house and left, leaving Mary, Steven, and Connie alone.  
>Mary sighed as she looked at her friends. "Thanks for the support you two. I know this must change your view of me......Hey Connie, can I ask you something?"  
>Connie looked at Mary in confusion. "Sure, what is it?"  
>"Well.......I saw the events play out, my conception and emergence. It looked like two Earth years passed between your genetic donation and my arrival here. Why......don't you look any different from me? I though humans were suppose to grow older."  
>"Oh, that. The gems think a combination of repeatedly using Steven's healing spit to heal injuries and fusing with him have slowed my aging down drastically. It's an unforeseen side effect, but one I don't mind. It means I get a longer life to spend with Steven, right?"  
>Mary thought for a moment before sighing. "Right.....you should both enjoy your time together as much as you can."  
>Steven looked at Mary with sympathy. "Come on Mary, you'll be okay, I could tell you already like it here on Earth more than you did on Homeworld. I'm sure after your training is done you'll be able to find someone to care about too! Come on, I'll pull out a sleeping bag and introduce you to some easier video games while we wait for Garnet to come back."  
>The three children headed upstairs to play a multiplayer video game together, laughing as they found themselves forgetting about the serious nature of what was to come for a moment.  
>After they finished their games, Connie went home. Soon after, Steven pulled out a sleeping bag for Mary to use, dragging the couch cushions up the stairs to give her a softer spot to sleep. They both needed to rest, especially Mary. Tomorrow promised to be a long and hard day for her, the first of many to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Imperial Garnet, my little idea of what would happen if Padparadscha fused with the Garnet we know and love. It gives her the ability to look into the circumstances that led to the birth or creation of an individual as well as their whole life, unaltered by memory bias. Part of me hopes we see such a fusion in canon.


	10. Mary's first training session with Garnet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garnet catches Mary early in the morning for a lesson before Pearl's training lesson of the day.

>Mary awoke early the morning after her initial talk with the Crystal Gems. She slowly crawled out of the sleeping bag Steven had given her, maneuvering herself off the couch cushions beneath her bag as she stood up. She glanced over to her left to see Steven, still sound asleep under his covers. Mary carefully turned around and moved away from the bed as silently as she could, not wanting to wake her friend up. She carefully walked around the bed and down the stairs leading from Steven's open bedroom and into the open area of the rest of the house.   
>Mary sighed as she looked over her blue outfit, still so painfully similar to the one her Aquamarine had worn, stained with dirt in various spots now. She narrowed her eyes as she made her way into Steven's bathroom, still moving as silently as she could. She turned on the faucet within and dampened a hanging towel before she began rubbing it against the spots on her outfit. She could remove them easily if she phased the outfit away for a moment, but a part of her feared if she did, she'd be unable to get it back.   
>After a few minutes of rubbing, the spots had come out most of the way. Grimacing a bit, she sighed. "Good enough for now. Maybe there's something I can use to get the spots out better." She turned away from the sink and walked out of the bathroom.   
>As Mary was exiting the bathroom, she heard a soft voice speak to her. "Good morning Mary." She jumped up in surprise, her gem glowing slightly as she reflexively reached for her weapon, stopping herself when she got a better look at who it was.   
>Mary held back her surprise and her frustration and kept her voice low as she spoke to the person who had surprised her. "Garnet, why did you do that? You scared me, I almost.....I mean, I started to........" Realization dawned on Mary. "This is part of the training, isn't it?"   
>Garnet smiled. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm still proud of you for stopping yourself before you got your bow out, but I did come to get your for a lesson Mary. Follow me."  
>Garnet turned away from the bathroom and walked towards the temple door. Mary hesitated before following behind her. The two gems corresponding with Garnet's gems lit up as the door parted into three pieces, opening up to reveal the Burning Room. Garnet walked calmly through the opening, Mary following behind her, her body shaking in a mix of anticipation and nervousness combined with the adrenaline still coursing through her from being startled.   
>Garnet walked over to the round pool of lava and sat down, her back turned to it. Mary walked slowly over to her, glancing around the room as she moved. Thick pink tubes snaked along the walls and around the ceiling above her head. Bubbles floated around at various heights, too high for Mary to see what was within them.   
>"Something to ask about later." Mary thought to herself as she finished closing the distance between herself and Garnet.   
>Garnet looked up at Mary and smiled, patting the ground with her right hand. "Have a seat and we'll begin, Mary."   
>Mary hesitated another moment before sitting down upon the floor, facing Garnet. "Garnet, why are we in here? What type of lesson are we going to have?"  
>"Mary, you have problems controlling yourself in times of fear and sadness. I hope what I show you today allows you to better handle yourself in those moments, like you did when I startled you. Trust me Mary, this can only help."  
>Mary thought for a moment before nodding her head. "Okay, okay, I trust you. What do I need to do?"  
>Garnet's smile widened, bringing her hands to rest within her lap. "Copy my position as much as possible, then close your eyes." Mary nodded as she rested her hands within her lap and closed her eyes.  
>"Now, breathe slowly, in and out. Here in darkness, everything is okay. Listen to the bubbling of the lava, and let it fade away."  
>Mary began to regulate her breathing to match Garnet's breaths, her mind picking up on the ambient noise around her, of the lava behind Garnet bubbling steadily. As Mary continued to breathe, the sound of the lava faded from her mind as her body began to relax, the tension from her nervousness and from where she had been surprised fading away as her heartbeat slowed down.   
>"Here comes a thought. Open your eyes Mary." Garnet spoke in an even tone, quiet and relaxed.  
>Mary opened her eyes, taken aback for a moment as she looked around her. No longer was the burning room in her vision, instead a vast expanse of blue surrounded her and Garnet. Mary's heart began to beat faster once more. "Garnet, what's going on here? Where are we now?!" Mary spoke in a somewhat frantic tone.   
>"Mary, relax and breathe, calm yourself. This space isn't real, we're still in the Burning Room in the temple. This space is my mindscape, a place I use to calm my own thoughts. A place I can invite others into to help them control the thoughts they have. This is important Mary, our lessons will take place here, within the meeting of our minds. You must learn to control your thoughts. Only when you can control your thoughts will you control your emotions."   
>White butterflies fluttered around Garnet's and Mary's heads as Garnet finished speaking. The butterflies began to swarm denser around Mary, coming together, becoming larger as more butterflies joined. A figure appeared upon the butterfly, A familiar blue form, wearing a sleeveless blue business vest that merged into a darker blue skirt. White stockings rested upon her legs, leading into blue shoes. White gloves rested upon both of her hands, a bright blue bow on top of her head, and a gemstone upon her left shoulder. Tears came from Mary's eyes as she looked upon the image. "Aqua...."  
>Garnet nodded at Mary. "As I thought, she's still at the center of your thoughts. Mary, there was nothing you could have done to save her. I know it's hard to accept, but you need to forgive yourself for what happened to her, or you'll never be able to control your emotions fully."   
>Mary looked at Garnet with a pained expression on her face, her heart rate increasing once more, her anger rising. "What am I suppose to do, just forget her?! I can't, I can't forget her! She was there for me, always there when I needed her! You saw everything she did for me, all the times she protected me and took care of me! And how do I repay her? By letting her down when she needed me the most!" More butterflies began swarming around Mary as she became more upset, further consumed by her regret.   
>"Mary, it's okay, breathe. You don't have to forget her, but you can't be consumed by thoughts of her either! Mary, your Aquamarine would have wanted you to forgive yourself, you must realize that. She would want you to live your life and be happy. It's going to be hard, it's going to be a long process, but you can do it. You can overcome yourself, overcome your regret and learn to control your emotions."  
>Mary's gaze shifted rapidly from butterfly to butterfly, seeing all the scenes of the times Aqua had saved her, all the times Aqua had smiled at her and held her close. Slowly, Mary's breathing slowed down, her body relaxed once more. The swarm of butterflies began to fade away as tears ran down Mary's face. "I miss her Garnet. I miss her so much."  
>"It's okay to miss her Mary. It's okay to keep her in your heart. Just remember, to never let yourself be consumed by how you feel about her. There's so much more to you than just her, Mary."  
>Mary nodded and closed her eyes, allowing the tears to flow freely as her body fully relaxed. Garnet let out a sigh as she waved her hands, the blue mindscape fading away as their consciousnesses came back to reality, back to the Burning Room. Mary's real eyes were still closed, real tears falling off of her blue cheeks.   
>"That's enough for today. Open your eyes Mary." Garnet spoke in a firm but gentle voice. Mary's eyes shot open as she looked around, taking in the sight of the burning room once more.   
>Garnet gave her a moment before she spoke again. "Mary, I want you to practice the meditation we did today on your own, once a day every day. Once a week, we'll reentered my mindscape, where I'll observe how you handle your thoughts and see your progress."  
>Mary nodded slowly. "Okay Garnet......I'll do it. No matter how long it takes, I'll get my thoughts under control."  
>Garnet smiled once more. "I'm really proud of what you did here today Mary. You've taken the first step towards self control. Hold your head high as you exit. Pearl will be coming for you shortly. Try to control your breathing and your thoughts during her lesson, and you'll be fine. Try your best Mary."  
>Mary stood shakily, fatigue already spreading through her body. "I'll try Garnet, I promise." Mary turned around and walked towards the temple door, the door opening swiftly to her, allowing her to exit into the living room.  
>Garnet remained seated in front of the lava pool, sighing as she thought upon what she just saw. "Mary's got a long way to go, this won't be easy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think saying this is a spoiler, originally this chapter was suppose to be Garnet's training and Pearl's training. Three things stopped me from posting the first training sessions together. One, I realized combining them would make a really long chapter. Two, the part with Pearl's training isn't at a spot I'm happy with yet, I'm still working on it. Three, it's been eight days since this story updated, and this part stands by itself just fine. The good thing is, the other part is near completion, but at the same time, I've got other stories I'm wanting to work on too. So many story ideas, so little time. 
> 
> That out of the way, I drew inspiration for this strait from the show. In my mind, Garnet can do the meditation mindscape thing with any gem or fusion she wants to. Ruby and Sapphire didn't show up because unlike with Stevonnie, this wasn't about a fusion falling apart, it's about a singular being having issues with her past. 
> 
> I cried while writing one part of it. "I miss her Garnet. I miss her so much." That feeling is.....one I'm all too familiar with.


	11. Mary's first training session with Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary has a training session with Pearl.

>After exiting the Burning room from her lesson with Garnet, Mary was surprised to see the sun had risen quite a ways in the sky. Steven was sitting down at the table, enjoying a stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup, Pearl gazing fondly at him as she stood nearby. Steven savored every bite as he chewed slowly, smiling widely as he spotted Mary.   
>Steven swallowed before he greeted her cheerfully. "Good morning Mary! I was worried you'd ran away when I saw you weren't around." Pearl looked over at Mary as Steven finished, looking at the girl with knowing eyes. Garnet had spoken with Pearl last night about her plans for the morning.  
>"Sorry to worry you Steven, I woke up early, and then Garnet took me into to Burning Room for a.......really weird lesson. Don't worry Steven, I'm not going to run away, When I start something, I see it through until the end. I need to learn to control my emotions.....no matter what it takes or how unpleasant it is."   
>Steven began opening his mouth to speak, but Pearl spoke up first. "I'm glad you feel like that Mary, because your first lesson with me is still happening today. I hope you're ready for it."ng   
>Steven glanced at Pearl with a worried face. "Come on Pearl, she just finished with Garnet, can't she have the rest of the day off?"  
>Mary smiled at Steven. "It's okay Steven, I don't mind doing two lessons in one day. The sooner they teach me to control my emotions, the sooner I can start hanging out with you and Connie freely, without worrying about hurting one of you accidentally."  
>"Well said Mary! Oh, I can already tell you're going to be a wonderful student! Steven, please stay here while me and Mary go to the Sky Arena."  
>"Aww, but Pearl, I want to watch!" Steven gave his best puppy dog eye stare towards Pearl.  
>Pearl hesitated for a moment, Steven's stare breaking down her resolve. It was Mary that spoke up. "Steven, Pearl is right, you should stay here, where it's safe. If anything went wrong and you got hurt, I......I couldn't forgive myself if I somehow hurt you. Please, stay here, for me?"  
>Steven looked over at Mary, disappointed, but realizing where she was coming from. He put on his best smile for her. "Aww, I wanted to watch, but you're right. Good luck with your training Mary!"  
>"Thanks Steven. Shall we get to it Pearl?"  
>Pearl snapped out of her hesitations and smiled at Mary. "Alright, let's get to it!". Pearl walked hastily out of the kitchen area towards the warp pad. Mary herself only had to take a few steps to reach the pad from the temple door, planting her feet firmly on the surface, Pearl touching her feet to the pad a moment later. With a flash of light, the warp pad activated, carrying the pair into the warp stream, their bodies floating weightlessly within as they traveled through the warp space.   
>The warp stream brought them to the Sky Arena, their feet setting down upon the pad gently. Mary took a few steps before summoning her wings and fluttering into the air. Pearl smiled as she leapt strait from the pad up to the entrance of the arena. Mary fluttered up behind her, following Pearl through the entrance and into the Sky arena proper.   
>Pearl took a spot a few feet away from the staircase, and turned to Mary, who was still fluttering down the stairs herself. "Mary, I want you to unsummon your wings for this, and stay at the bottom of the stairs. I'll explain what the training session will involve once your feet are on the ground."  
>Mary hesitated a moment before unsummoning her wings, her feet touching down gently onto the arena ground. Pearl smiled as she spoke once more. "Mary, since you have issues containing your emotions, specifically your anger, today's lesson will be testing the limits of your patience. I will summon holograms, one at first, then keep adding them until you reach for your bow. These holograms won't be attacking you, instead they are designed to annoy you. They will be modeled after the gems and humans you've seen. Are you ready?"  
>Mary swallowed hard as she nodded. "Yes ma'am, I'm ready."   
>Pearl nodded as her gem glowed. "Alright, you may sit or stand, but you must stay near the stairs so I can see when you've had enough. We don't want you actually losing control here."   
>A hologram appeared in front of Mary, depicting one of the Aquamarines she had worked with during the planet restoration, a gemstone under her left eye. The hologram began to float around Mary, laughing and giggling as it began poking her when it flew close enough, on her head, on her shoulders, and on her arms. Mary sat down, closed her eyes and began breathing steadily, in and out, trying to keep Garnet's morning lesson in mind, to apply it to blot out unwanted thoughts and distractions.   
>After twenty minutes had passed, Pearl hummed as she summoned another Aquamarine hologram, this one with a gem on her nose, and it too began flying around and poking at Mary, giggling and laughing in a robotic voice. Still Mary sat, hands in her lap , eyes closed, and her breathing steady, but her teeth beginning to grind against themselves as she clenched her jaw. The poking, prodding, and laughter was getting harder for Mary to ignore.  
>Another twenty minutes passed before Pearl took action once more. "Let's kick this up a bit, shall we?" Pearl hummed again as she summoned a few new silhouette, one a splitting image of Connie, the others a pair of Topazes. The holographic Topazes cackled maniacally with fake weapons in their hands as they approached the holographic Connie. The holographic Connie's voice was eerily similar to the real Connie's as it called out to Mary. "Mary please, help me!"  
>Mary's eyes shot open as she heard the cry, her eyes and gem glowing a familiar blue color as she moved her hand towards her gem. Pearl's eyes widened as she dismissed the holograms and lunged towards Mary, tackling her to the ground and pinning her arms back. Pearl shouted out to the girl underneath her. "Mary, Mary it's okay, it wasn't real! Get a hold of yourself!"  
>Mary thrashed and struggled under the veteran gem's strength before the glow in her gem and eyes began to fade, her senses coming back to reality She blinked a few times before she focused on Pearl, her eyes watering with tears. "P-pearl? Oh, oh no, I was, I heard.....I was about to lose it, wasn't I?"  
>Pearl sighed before she released Mary from the floor and stood up. "Yes you were Mary, but it's okay, you're still very new to trying to control your emotions. But, such a strong reaction to the imitation Connie crying out for help, I didn't expect that. You care that much for her?"  
>Mary's cheeks flushed a dark blue. "Can you blame me? She's part of the reason I exist! I, all Combat Connies owe her so much, and she was so kind to me, even though we've barely met. She wanted to be an equal to me, a friend. I....."  
>Pearl smiled at Mary. "I think I understand Mary. I had someone like that in my life too. Her name was Rose Quartz. She was wonderful, a little foolish and a little selfish, but still wonderful all the same. I still think about her often." Pearl's smile slipped away as she thought about Rose.  
>Mary looked up at Pearl knowingly. "You lost her, didn't you? I'm so sorry."  
>Pearl shook herself out of her sadness. "It's okay. She might be gone, but I still have friends that care for me, I still have people I want to protect. Those things are important parts in moving on. You too will find people that care for you and who you want to protect, Mary."  
>Mary smiled at Pearl. "I think I've already found a few I want to keep safe. Steven, Connie, and Greg, they mean a lot to me, even though I've only known them a short time. I promise, I'll do whatever it takes to learn how to keep my emotions in check. I'll do better next time."  
>"I think that's enough for today. You must be exhausted emotionally from both training sessions. Let's go back to the beach house so you can rest."  
>"Yes ma'am."  
>The pair left the arena and warped back to the beach house, the warp pad flaring to life as their bodies moved through the warp stream and their feet touched down on the pad in the house. The area was oddly vacant.  
>"Strange, I guess Steven went out for donuts. I hope you won't be too bored while you wait for him to come back Mary. I need to take care of something in the temple."  
>Mary shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay Pearl, I'm sure he'll be back soon. I can entertain myself while I wait for him to get back. You go take care of business."  
>"Alright, but knock on my gem on the temple door if something comes up." Pearl smiled before she turned towards the temple door, stepping quickly off the pad as her gem and the door lit up, opening up to let Pearl back into her room.   
>Mary sighed as the door closed behind Pearl. She made her way over to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.   
>She looked down at her outfit, at the stains still on it, and at how much it reminded her of her Aquamarine. Mary sighed as she closed her eyes and focused, her gem lighting up as her clothing glowed and began to reshape, her skirt morphing into a pair of sweatpants, her fancy shirt shifting into a simple teeshirt, her fancy shoes shifting into simpler blue sneakers, her white gloves shifting from closed fingers to finger-less, from elegance to function. The only part of her outfit that remained unchanged was the bright blue bow on her head, made of physical material instead of the hard light her body was comprised of.   
>Mary opened her eyes and looked at her new look. After a few moments she sighed once more, her left hand touching the bow on her head gently. "I wonder what you'd say about this, Aqua? I hope you can forgive me, keeping our old uniform was.....getting to be too painful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally put the finishing touches on this chapter. Next one might be delayed as I try to decide which one of two ideas I want to do first. The good and bad thing about being sick for a few days, your mind wanders and you have time to think up ideas. 
> 
> Also, the shift to casual clothing for Mary, it's part her letting herself relax, part her trying to let go of more of her regrets about what happened to her Aquamarine.


	12. An important Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary, Steven, and Connie end up going on a mission after a dangerous Cluster mutant.

>A few weeks had passed since Mary had began training on how to control her reactions, thoughts, and emotions with Pearl and Garnet. She was making good progress, each lesson with Pearl she lasted a little longer, each lesson with Garnet she was able to block out more of the negative thoughts running through her mind. Steven was very proud of how far the gems said she was coming. Connie and Greg had both made a point of paying Mary visits during the weeks, Greg letting her know that her home was still safe and secure, Connie always willing to have a little fun.   
>Today, Connie had been called to the beach house for a very different reason. Garnet had borrowed Steven's phone and informed her there was a mission that needed her help. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven, Connie, and Mary were all gathered in the living room, Garnet clearing her throat before she addressed the group.  
>"I called you all here because my vision has revealed three very dangerous Cluster experiments that have come out of hiding. They must be stopped as quickly as possible, before they can get to any human settlements or attack any of the newly healed gems still exploring Earth."  
>"So where are they Garnet? I'm ready to whoop some mutant butt!" Amethyst smiled as she smacked her fist into her open hand and grinned.  
>Garnet touched her glasses before speaking again. "I was getting to that. One is near a volcano, the chance of being covered in magma or lava is too great. I will handle that one alone. Pearl, Amethyst, you two will go after the second one, located in the Great North. Connie, Steven, Mary, you three will be going to a large forest in South America."   
>Mary's mind reeled as she heard the last part. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard that. It sounded like you wanted me to go on a mission?" She looked at Garnet in confusion.   
>"No, you heard right Mary. You need to be there to help Steven and Connie if things go wrong. An extra set of eyes in a dense jungle are needed."   
>"Wait, wait, what if I mess up? What if I lose control and hurt Steven and Connie? Garnet, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this yet!" Mary spoke in a nervous tone.   
>Steven and Connie both placed a hand on Mary's shoulders and smiled. Steven spoke up. "It'll be okay Mary, I have faith in you! Together, we'll get the mutant and be back before anything happens, I promise."  
>"Yeah! I've been wanting to work with you for a while, I'm sure you'll do great Mary!" Connie added with a smile.  
>"You'll be fine Mary. You've made great progress controlling your outbursts. I'm sure Steven and Connie can help you out before things get too bad if they need to." Pearl spoke out in confidence.   
>"Ready or not, this needs to be done now. We can't risk sending just Connie and Steven there, and we can't leave Pearl and Amethyst to work alone. They'll need to work together to take out the one in the Great North. You can do this Mary. You can handle it. Remember what we taught you."  
>Mary took a few steady breaths, her body relaxing from the tension she was experiencing. "Okay, okay I'll do it. I won't let you all down. I'll help keep Steven and Connie safe!"   
>With that, Garnet took off on the warp pad for her target, with Pearl and Amethyst leaving next. Steven and Connie went to the warp pad next, with Mary hesitating a moment before she joined them. She was going to make the Crystal Gems proud. She was going to help and not lose herself to her emotions.  
>The warp pad glowed, transporting the trio through warp space towards their destination. As the warp stream placed them on the destination pad, Connie drew her sword and spoke. "We need to be alert. Garnet said an extra set of eyes in the jungle was needed, shout out at any sign of movement!"   
>Steven nodded before he summoned his shield. Mary hesitated as she reached into her chest and summoned her bow. It was the first time she had reached for her weapon without being angry since her Aquamarine had died. The sight of her weapon in her hands made her get lost in memories for a while as she followed behind Steven and Connie. She shook her head and snapped herself out of her thoughts when she realized what she was doing. "There will be time for thinking later. You need to pay attention." Mary scolded herself in her mind, her eyes beginning to scan the trees for any sign of movement.  
>After twenty minutes of wandering around, it happened. Mary spotted some rustling leaves in the treetops. She launched an arrow towards it while shouting out. "There, I saw movement!" Connie and Steven turned in time to see a brilliant blue flash as the leaves around where the arrow impacted burned away in a fiery explosion. Ash sprinkled to the ground, revealing a wide open area with nothing there.   
>Mary cursed. "Stars, it must have moved too quickly! Stay alert!" Her eyes began scanning the surrounding area as Steven raised his bubble shield around the group, not wanting to take any chances. The leaves in the trees were unnaturally still now, no ambient rustling, no animal chattering, nothing.  
>Suddenly a large shape impacted the shield with a strong force, causing it to splinter apart. Steven and Connie went flying back a ways while Mary and the shape tumbled down a slope in the forest's floor, Mary's bow getting knocked away and fading as she tumbled.  
>When the pair stopped moving, Mary's eyes widened as she got a good look at the shape, at the gem mutant before her. The shape was three times as large as Garnet, it's body comprised of a mass of twisting arms and legs in various shades of green, blue, red, pink, purple, yellow, and orange, eyes dotted along its form in equally varied shades. Embedded in each hand and foot was a mouth, snapping and snarling as the monster pinned Mary down. A large mouth opened up on the monster's torso, a few of the smaller mouths that weren't over Mary began dripping a sickly green substance. An all too familiar hissing sound echoed in Mary's ears as she heard the drops hit the ground, eating away at it and leaving nothing behind. Her body locked up in terror, refusing to move as she realized the monster was dripping acid. Tears streamed down her face as the memory of her Aquamarine's death flooded back.   
>The monster's mouth on it's torso opened wider as it hovered over Mary's entire form. "No, not like this......not like this please......somebody help." Tears ran down Mary's face, her body still refusing to move out of fear. She braced herself for the inevitable, clenching her eyes shut.   
>An unfamiliar voice calling out caused Mary's eyes to snap open. "Mary, hold on!" Mary looked up just in time to see a tall humanoid form tackling the mutant off of her. Mary looked at the figure in awe, at their long brown hair flowing in the air as they wielded an all too familiar sword and shield in their hands, knees resting carefully around the mutant's largest mouth as they sat on top of it.  
>The newcomer struggled as a few of the limbs on the cluster mutant began wrapping around their arms and legs, preventing them from landing a killing blow. "Mary, help!" the figure shouted as the creature started regaining its composure.   
>Mary's body began moving on its own, the sound of the stranger's voice sounding so familiar to her, filling her with a desire to save them. She pulled her bow out once more in a brilliant flash of light, pulling three arrows back at once before letting them loose, the arrows flying through the air with a whoosh, hitting the mutant's form with three thuds, sinking deep into its form.  
>The mutant cried out in pain, its arms releasing the tall figure from its grasp. The figure scowled as they drove Connie's sword deep into the mutant's torso, Mary's arrows exploding in a small radius within at the same time. It was enough. The mutant screamed out a deafening wail with all its mouths before its form dissipated, leaving the figure to float gently down to the ground while the clump of shards clattered to the ground. The figure reached down and bubbled the clump before turning to face Mary. "Thanks for the save Mary. Are you okay?"  
>Mary looked at the figure head on now, beginning to recognize more of the things that covered their body, Steven's shirt resting under Connie's jacket, Connie's skirt resting over Steven's shorts, the gem, Steven's gem, sparkling at their naval.   
>Mary sputtered out a reply. "Y-yeah, I think I'm f-fine, just f-froze for a moment there. Thank you for the save. You're......Steven and Connie fused, aren't you? Wait, are you two okay? That thing didn't hurt you, did it?"  
>Stevonnie shrugged their shoulders. "We're fine, but thanks for asking. We're Stevonnie, and it's nice to meet you like this Mary."  
>Mary blushed a bit before she responded. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm glad you're both, all, uh......I'm glad everyone's safe. You look amazing like that, you two really are great for each other."  
>It was Stevonnie's turn to blush. "Thanks Mary. Come on, let's get out of this jungle and get home. And hey, don't worry about freezing up back there for a moment, okay? You came through in the end, that's what matters."  
>Mary nodded. "Yeah.....yeah you're right. Thanks for understanding."  
>The pair walked back through the jungle and to the warp pad. Mary kept thinking of what just happened, and how close she came to meeting a terrible fate. She'd have to talk to Garnet about it on their next lessons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Mary freezing in fear for a moment, I think all the stress of her missions and her memories, combined with her training on how not to lash out, make this a realistic thing to happen. Having her come back around to save Stevonnie when they cry out for help allows her to shine for a moment and not slip into a total funk over her initially freezing. 
> 
> If this chapter has you worrying about me killing Mary off, don't worry, I'm not going to do it, I like her too much to ever do it. She's the first character I decided really needed a full story. I already have an end goal in mind for her, one I think fits well with what's happening to her now. Only one story has more total words than this one does, for now.


	13. A set of Burning Questions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary and Garnet have another lesson in the Burning Room, where Mary addresses her latest freeze up.

>It was the morning after the mission. Once more, Mary and Garnet had gone into the Burning Room for their meditation lesson. Once more, Mary found herself in the blue void, the white butterflies fluttering around her, with Garnet sitting nearby.   
>The white butterflies condensed around Mary once more, joining together into a larger butterfly much like they always did. But instead of the usual image of her Aquamarine, this time the image on the butterfly displayed a very different image. It displayed the cluster mutant Mary had encountered with Steven and Connie. It showed Mary freezing up at the sound of the acid, several smaller butterflies now fluttering around the largest one, playing the image of Mary's final mission with her Aquamarine.   
>Mary flinched as she looked at it all before turning her attention towards Garnet. "Garnet, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You all trusted me to help Steven and Connie on the mission, and I just.....froze. I froze from the memory of my Aquamarine's death. I froze up instead of reacting like I should have." Mary hung her head low in shame, tears running down her face.  
>"Mary, don't do this to yourself. You're still making progress, you're still learning to deal with everything. We should have never sent you on that mission, I saw that this was a possibility. I saw and I sent you anyways."  
>Mary stopped crying and looked up at Garnet. "Wait, what? You......you knew I'd freeze up?"  
>Garnet flinched. "Not....exactly. There were many possibilities Mary, many futures laid out before me. In the ones where you were present, half had you taking out the mutant on your own, a huge boost to your confidence. The other half......involved you freezing up, and branched out into various stages of you, Connie, and Steven getting hurt."  
>Anger surged up in Mary. "Then why? Why did you put me through that if you saw so many futures where I froze?! I thought you wanted to help me!"  
>"Mary, listen to me, please. The futures where you weren't present, where Steven and Connie went alone, weren't pretty. So many of those futures involved one or both of them getting seriously hurt. Loss of limbs, breaking bones, I saw so many horrible things and so few futures where neither were harmed. Your involvement rose the chances of everyone coming through without major injury or worse from ten percent up to eighty percent. You needed to be there."  
>Mary's anger began to settle as she started controlling her breathing once more, looking back at the scene of her freezing up before looking back to Garnet. "You're saying.....you're saying they could have.....died without me there, aren't you?"  
>Garnet nodded solemnly. "Yes. Missions always carry that risk, but with you involved, the chances of someone dying dropped drastically. It doesn't make the choice to send you before you were ready right, but I hope you can see why I did it."  
>Mary sighed "I'm not happy about this Garnet, but I can see why you did it. Connie and Steven are important to you, Pearl, and Amethyst, aren't they? I......they're important to me too. If something happened to them, I......" Mary hesitated for a moment. "Garnet, promise me something. If you need to send me out on another mission before I get my emotions fully in check, please tell me the odds before I go out. I....if I know what could happen, maybe I can make sure it doesn't. Maybe it'll help me stay in control. Promise me Garnet."  
>Garnet smiled "Mary, I promise, you'll get the odds from now on. I'm proud of you Mary, you've come a long way. You handled this very well today. You didn't get lost in regret or anger."!  
>Mary looked at Garnet, her eyes wide with surprise before she smiled. "I...I did, didn't I? Was.....this part of your visions too?"  
>Garnet thought for a moment before she sighed. "It was one of the better results for today. Others weren't as smooth. The future is never set in stone Mary, it's constantly flowing and changing."  
>"Thanks for being honest with me." Mary spoke out as the blue landscape faded around her, her consciousness returning to the real world, back to the Burning Room.   
>"You're welcome Mary. If there's something I can do to make it up to you, let me know."   
>"Actually....there is something else I've been wondering about, but there never seemed to be a good opportunity to ask." Mary's eyes wandered up to the bubbles floating within the Burning Room before looking back down at Garnet. "What's with all those bubbles? They're too high up for me to see them clearly."   
>Garnet flinched, thinking for a moment before she sighed. "I knew this was coming eventually. Mary, we used to keep corrupted gems contained in this room, gems twisted into monsters through the power of the Diamonds. But they weren't all we kept here. The corrupted gems have been healed, but the rest of the bubbles.......the rest are the gems that aren't intact. They're the shards of fallen gems. They're the results of Homeworld experiments to force shards together into artificial fusions, like that thing you fought yesterday. They're ancient gem devices that are too hazardous to disassemble."  
>Mary's eyes shot back up, looking over the bubbles once more. "So, up there, those.......Garnet, leaving the shards in bubbles, it isn't right. They deserve a proper rest. Those artificial fusions do too, even......" Mary hesitated before she continued. "Even that thing that attacked me yesterday. We need to do something more for them. Maybe....bury them, like I did with......with Aquamarine's surviving shard."  
>Garnet hummed in contemplation. "A return to the soil, it's an idea we've talked about before. We're already considering it Mary, but we're still exploring other options for the gem mutants and the shards. If there's even the slightest chance they can be helped, we need to try and find it before committing to something final."  
>Mary nodded her head in agreement. "That's fair enough. Thanks for being honest with me Garnet. Hey, uh......if you ever figure out a way to help the shards, will you.....tell me?"  
>"You're welcome Mary, and yes, I will. Don't get your hopes up though, we've exhausted a lot of ideas already."  
>Mary sighed. "That's fair enough, thanks again Garnet." She left the burning room feeling better about what had happened to her and where she stood with the Crystal Gems. Garnet looked up at the bubbles after Mary left and removed her visor, her three eyes darting over all the bubbles overhead.   
>"Maybe some of you can find true peace after all. We'll see what we can do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those things that needed to be done. I do have a clear plan in mind here, but it's not bringing back Mary's Aquamarine. But Mary herself, she would naturally wonder if maybe, if something could be done for the shards, that maybe her Aquamarine's shard could be thrown in too. Of course, there's always the possibility Mary might not like what ends up being decided upon.


	14. New meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Lapis return to the beach house from two very different trips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so yes I have seen the poster for the movie, yes I do realize my story puts these events right around the time the movie is suppose to happen, no, I'm not going back and changing things to match the poster and I'm not aging Steven up yet, nor am I changing Connie. This was already an AU, a little more divergence isn't going to kill it.

>Two months had passed since Mary had gone on the mission to subdue the Cluster mutant and had her talk with Garnet in the Burning Room. Connie and Greg had continued to make time to visit her while she was still training on how to handle her thoughts and emotions better. Her training was coming to a close, she wasn't getting lost in her visions of her memories with Garnet anymore, and Pearl's hologram training only triggered her responses in the most extreme of situations, including a time Pearl had utilized a hologram of Kevin, which Mary promptly put an arrow into before apologizing, saying she couldn't resist the opportunity.  
>Amethyst had gone out for a day in town, leaving Mary, Steven, Pearl, and Garnet in the Beach house together, relaxing and having fun with a simple board game.  
>The game was cut short with the warp pad in the house lighting up, a stream touching down upon the pad, causing everyone to turn towards it as the stream died down and a small green figure stood on the warp pad, grinning widely. At the same time, a thin blue figure landed on the porch outside of the beach house with a smile on her face and unsummoning her water wings before she moved to open the door.  
>"Behold, the great and lovable Peridot has returned!" Peridot spoke out in confidence, moments before the door to the beach house opened, Lapis stepping inside and still smiling. "Hey, guess who finished flying around and exploring Earth?"  
>Steven's eyes lit up as he looked between the two gems. "Ohmygosh, Peridot, Lapis, it's good to see you both again!" Steven hesitated on who to go to, but when he saw Pearl and Garnet walking over to Peridot and greeting her with a smile, his choice became easier. He rushed over to Lapis to give her a big hug. "It's good to see you too Steven."  
>Mary sat by in confusion, wondering who the newcomers were. "Clearly they must be friends, but why haven't I seen them yet?" Mary thought to herself.  
>Peridot and Lapis both took notice of Mary after a moment of reveling in the welcome they had been given. Peridot spoke up first. "Why's a Combat Connie here, and where's her partner gem?" Mary flinched as Garnet, Pearl, and Steven gave her nervous looks. Mary stood up with a smile and walked over to Peridot, offering her hand out to the green gem. "Hi, I'm Mary and......my partner gem isn't here. She's....gone. I came to Earth for a life away from Homeworld."  
>"Oh." realization dawned on Peridot, her face falling a bit as she shook Mary's hand. "Well, welcome to Earth Mary. I hope you've been enjoying your stay, and I'm sorry about.....your partner gem."  
>Steven thought to change the subject quickly. "So Peridot, how are the new resource colonies doing?"  
>"I'm glad you asked Steven! The resource colonies are running smoothly, we've achieved total ecological balance between the natural ecosystem and what we're taking from it. It truly is a miraculous development for gemkind!"  
>Everyone in the room smiled. "That's great Peridot. Oh, I'm so excited, things really are looking better for gems everywhere!" Pearl spoke out with a smile on her face.  
>"Hey, what about Bismuth? Wasn't she with you Peridot?" Steven asked in curiosity.  
>"Oh, Bismuth warped out with me, but she decided to help look for gems who are still in hiding on the colonies. Last I heard, she had found quite a few of them, nyehehe. Those gems will see the wonders of Era Three!"  
>"I hope she comes back soon, I miss her." Steven spoke out wistfully.  
>Garnet cleared her throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "Pearl, Peridot. There's something we need to talk about. Come with me to the Burning Room, please." she spoke in a stern but gentle tone before she waked over tot he temple door. Pearl nodded before she followed behind.  
>Peridot hesitated a moment. "Well, if Garnet said please, it must be serious. We'll hang out later Steven, nyehehe. It was nice meeting you Mary!" With that, Peridot rushed over to the temple door, Pearl and Garnet already inside. The door closed behind Peridot as she finished entering the room.  
>An awkward silence hung in the room before Lapis spoke out, looking at Mary. "So, what's a Combat Connie? Peridot seemed to know what.....you're name was Mary? She seemed to know what you were, but I have no idea." Lapis moved her gaze over to Steven. "Steven, can you please explain this?  
>"Well, I uh....." Steven shuffled his feet nervously, wondering how much he should tell Lapis about Mary's past.  
>"I'll handle this Steven." Mary smiled before she looked at Lapis. "Combat Connies are intended as partners for gems on Homeworld who go on dangerous missions that require fighting. As I said before, I'm here because I wanted a life away from Homeworld, now that there's nothing there for me anymore."  
>Lapis looked at Mary suspiciously for a moment before she noticed Steven moving closer to her and placing a hand on her left shoulder. "You don't have to say anything more if you don't want to, I know it's still hard for you." Steven spoke out with a smile.  
>"Thanks for worrying Steven, but I'm fine. If I'm going to see these other gems, Lapis, Peridot, and whoever Bismuth is, they need to know about me too, right?"  
>"I guess you're right, but don't be ashamed to take it slow if you need to."  
>Lapis looked at how close Mary and Steven were, how much they cared for each other. Her concerns faded into a smile. "Well, Steven seems to like you, that's good enough for me."  
>Mary looked at Lapis, an idea coming to her. "Hey, you've got wings too, right?" Mary summoned her water wings, her chest gem glowing as they formed. "How about we go for a little flight together? You don't mind, do you Steven?" Mary looked at Steven with a smile.  
>Steven grinned widely. "If Lapis is okay with it, I don't mind! What do you think Lapis?"  
>Lapis hesitated for a moment before she nodded her head. "Alright, let's go for a flight Mary." Lapis's gem on her back glowed brightly as her water wings sprouted out, far larger than Mary's. Lapis began walking out of the beach house.  
>"See you soon Steven!" Mary shouted out before she rushed out of the beach house herself, flapping her wings as she took off into the air, Lapis taking off behind her.  
>Lapis easily caught up with Mary, the pair flying side by side as they went out over the ocean.  
>The pair flew for a few minutes before Lapis broke the ice. "So, you've been spending time with Steven for a while, right? Have you liked it?" Then she used a more serious tone as she asked her next question. "Have you been treating him well?"  
>Mary smiled as she answered. "We've spent......I think it's been three months and a few weeks now, together. Steven's a really good friend, I've liked hanging out with him, and I've done my best to treat him the same way he's treated me."  
>"Done your best? You haven't hurt him, have you?"  
>Mary hesitated. "I've hurt his feelings a few times when I snapped out in anger. I've.......I have trouble controlling my emotions sometimes. The loss of my Aquamarine partner hit me hard, but even before then, I had a habit of letting my anger get the better of me." Mary's face lit up a bit. "But, Garnet and Pearl have been helping me learn to control those emotions better, I have a much better handle on myself than I ever did back on Homeworld."  
>Lapis looked over at the girl before she smiled. "Controlling your emotions can be tricky, I have issues there too. It can be hard." Then her tone grew serious again. "Mary, if you ever hurt Steven physically, I don't care how much he begs or where you run, I will find you and pay you back for it. Steven is a precious person."  
>Mary's eyes widened in shock before she let out a light giggle. "You're pretty protective of him, aren't you? Don't worry, part of why I'm letting Garnet and Pearl help me learn how to control my emotions is so I WON'T hurt anyone accidentally. Steven, Connie, the Crystal Gems, they're all important to me. They're all my friends. I.....I hope we can be friends too, Lapis."  
>"We'll see Mary. You're honest, that's already a good step forward. C'mon, let's get back to the beach house." Lapis stopped in midair and turned around, heading back to the shoreline. It took Mary a little bit to turn herself around and catch up with Lapis, the pair flying back to the beach house, side by side once more. Both gems would be keeping an eye on each other closely while they were getting to know each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is okay, I realized I hadn't involved Lapis, Peridot, or Bismuth in my story, and all three should have logically been around. This chapter ties up that loose end and sets some more things up.


	15. The end of training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary finishes her last training session with Pearl.

>Two weeks had passes since Peridot and Lapis had returned to Earth. Bismuth was still out looking for Off-color gems hiding on other worlds. In the time that had passed, Lapis and Peridot had both gotten to know Mary better, Peridot taking to the girl immediately, wanting to study her closer and get to know all of what she could do better. Lapis was slowly warming up to her, but was still uneasy about someone new hanging around Steven.   
>This morning was a truly special day for Mary. She had just finished a lesson with Pearl, managing to keep herself calm even in the most extreme hologram situations Pearl had conjured, an army of Emeralds, Agates, and Kevins going after hologram copies of Steven, Connie, and Greg. Even with their lifelike cries for help, Mary managed to keep her cool and save them, without using her weapon.  
>"Excellent work Mary! When Garnet told me today would be the day.....I wanted it to be true so much, and it was! Your training with me is finished Mary, there's nothing left I can throw at you. Any further progress you make will have to be in real situations."  
>"R-really? I, I'm finished?"   
>"You're finished with ME Mary, and with Garnet, but, there's always......" Pearl trailed off as she glanced away.   
>"There's always something unexpected lying out there, right?" Mary smiled at Pearl. "Don't worry, I promise if the unexpected happens, I'll make you proud and keep myself calm."  
>"I'm sure you'll do great! We should return to the beach house, you must be exhausted!"   
>"I could use a rest.....but I'm not too tired for a race!" Mary summoned her wings and flapped hard. "C'mon Pearl, last one to the pad is a clod!"  
>"I wish Peridot never taught you that!" Pearl shouted out as she leapt after Mary, her long legs and speed allowing her to catch up with the girl with ease. The pair smiled as they arrived at the warp pad together and activated it, the warp stream enveloping their bodies and carrying them through warp space back to the beach house.   
>As the pair arrived in the beach house, Pearl smiled wide and Mary's eyes widened in surprise at the scene before them. Amethyst, Garnet, Peridot, Steven, and even Lapis were all wearing tiny party hats, but those weren't the real surprise. Standing in the middle of the group, Greg was holding a cake and smiling. On the cake were letters that spelled out "Training Complete!" The group all shouted in unison as they saw Mary and Pearl warp in. "SURPRISE! CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR TRAINING!"  
>Mary began to tear up as she looked around the room, streamers hung up everywhere, then back at the group. "This is.....all for me? I, I don't know what to say, I......oh thank you, thank you all so much!"  
>"You deserve it Mary. You worked hard for this." Garnet spoke with a smile.   
>"Congrats Mary, I can't wait to have some fun with you now that you're finished training!" Amethyst shouted out, already planning a few trips in her mind.   
>"I'm so happy you're finished Mary! Now we can hang out in town again together and see Connie more often!" Steven beamed with excitement.  
>"Way to go kiddo, I'm glad you made it through this. Don't worry about me, you should enjoy yourself and celebrate for a while!" Greg spoke in a gentle tone.  
>"Congratulations Mary! I'm so proud of you!" Pearl wrapped her arms around Mary as she spoke her praise.   
>"I haven't known you for long, but grats Mary. Hope you can keep improving your control." Lapis spoke, her tone flatter than everyone else's.  
>"Pearl and Garnet have informed me of your progress and your condition. An exceptional achievement befitting of a new you! You must help me out sometime, I'd like to learn more about you." Peridot spoke, already plotting a few tests in her head for Mary to go through.  
>Mary smiled as Pearl let go of her. "You guys are great, all of you. I'm so glad I came to Earth." She eyed the cake in Greg's hands. "May.....may I do the honors of cutting it?"  
>Greg smiled and nodded. "Of course kiddo. Lemme set it on the counter and we can all dig in!" Greg moved to the kitchen, Mary and the others following close behind.   
>Pearl pulled eight plates down from the cabinets, eight forks to eat with, and one knife. She passed the knife to Mary, who cut herself a corner piece off before she started cutting cake for the rest of the group. Everyone in the beach house enjoyed the delicious chocolate and blueberry flavored cake, even Pearl who normally didn't eat took a few celebratory bites.  
>As the evening wound down and the cake was all consumed, Mary and Greg headed over to the door of the beach house. Mary smiled as she looked at the Crystal Gems and waved goodbye. "Thanks for letting me stay here and helping me out guys. I promise, I'll stop by frequently. Let me know if you need my help with anything! I'll see you all soon!"  
>"Bye Mary, take care!" Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven all called out in unison.   
>"See you around Mary." Lapis spoke before breaking into a smile.   
>"I look forward to working with you Mary!" Peridot spoke excitedly.   
>Mary smiled as she left the beach house, and rushed to catch up to Greg.   
>"Mr. Universe, are you sure you don't need help? I don't mind going back to work with you now that I'm done with the gems."   
>"Nah, it's okay kiddo. Some of the healed gems have helped keep people drawn in. You can come back if you want, but why don't you take a few days to yourself? I'm sure there's things you want to think about."  
>Mary thought for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right. Well, I'll still come see you soon Mr. Universe. I know you visited, but I missed hanging out with you freely."  
>"I missed it too kiddo. Drop by anytime you like! See you later kiddo." Greg waved goodby as the pair arrived at the wash, Greg letting out a yawn before he began making his way over to his van.   
>Mary herself proceeded back home, fluttering down the streets until she found it. More of the houses had been fixed up, lights shone brightly in more than half now.   
>When she got to her house, she smiled as she pulled her key out of her pocket. With a gentle twist, the door unlocked.   
>Mary let out a sigh as she entered her house for the first time in months. "I had fun with the Crystal Gems and Steven, but......it's good to be home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter serves as a transition point, the end of Mary's training arc. I could have written out more training sessions, but I felt like it'd get too repetitive, the first Pearl training session and the summery of the last gives a good enough idea of what Mary went through, and most of Garnet's sessions would be the same thing on repeat, with Mary reacting less each time. The following chapter or chapters will be more laid back, and then I move into the next plot line.


	16. A fiery encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garnet asks Mary for help on a mission against a dangerous corrupted gem.

>The day after she returned to her home after finishing her training, Mary found herself relaxing on her green couch and watching the large boxy TV set Greg had given her when she first moved in. She smiled as she thought to herself. "I liked spending time with the gems, but I missed having privacy. It's good to be home"  
>Mary's relaxation was cut short by three loud knocks upon the door. Grumbling, Mary got off the couch and slowly made her way to the front door.  
>Her eyes widened with surprise as she opened the door and saw Garnet standing before her. "Garnet? This is unexpected, what's up? Did you miss me already?"  
>"We all miss having you around, and you're free to visit anytime, but that's not why I'm here. Mary, I need your help on a mission."  
>"Wait, really, you need my help on a mission? Of course I'll help, who else is coming along?"  
>"Nobody else Mary, just me and you."  
>Mary takes a step back. "Wait, what? Why? Garnet, what's going on?"  
>Garnet lets out a sigh before she starts talking again. "Mary, this corrupted gem is exuding an extreme heat from its body. Nobody else but me can get close. I need ranged backup, Lapis's water attacks would evaporate, Peridot's metal she used would be melted, and Pearl is paired with Steven and Amethyst on their own mission. Which leaves you, Mary. Your arrows won't be burned away, and will be a huge help."  
>"What are the odds I get hurt on this mission Garnet?" Mary asks with a slight tone of concert.  
>"Minimal, of the thousands of futures I can see, only ten end up with you hurt. Less than one percent. If I go without you.......my own odds of coming out unharmed are only forty percent, with you it goes up to eighty."  
>"I double your odds of coming through unharmed, and there's minimal risk for me? Thanks for telling me Garnet." Mary smiles as she summons her water wings behind her. "C'mon, let's go bring them in for healing."  
>Garnet cracked a smile as she turned and left Mary's doorway. Mary locked the door to her house behind her. With Mary's flying speed, and Garnet's incredible jumping ability, the pair made it to the beach house in a few minutes, Garnet landing in front of the bottom of the stairs while Mary landed on top of the porch in front of the front door.  
>Mary walked slowly into the home, a wave of longing washing over her as she looked around and slowly stepped through the house. She smiled as she saw her sleeping bag still resting near Steven's bed. "I hope he's doing okay, I'll have to see if I can catch him tomorrow." Mary thought to herself.  
>"Mary, when you're ready." Garnet's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned to the source of the voice, blushing slightly as she noticed Garnet had managed to walk past her and was already standing on the warp pad.  
>"S-sorry Garnet, I'm good." Mary rushed over to the pad and set her feet down upon it. The warp pad flared to life, sending a familiar sense of weightlessness through the pair as both their bodies were carried through the stream.  
>The pair was sat down on a warp pad in the middle of the desert, sand stretching as far as the eyes could see, the heat bearing down on the pair immediately. Before they stepped off, Garnet raised her hand. "Mary, from here we walk, and we do our best not to make noise. Your wings will dry out too fast in this heat, you'll only strain yourself if you use them."  
>Mary nodded before she unsummoned her wings. Garnet nodded her approval before stepping off the pad, Mary following close behind her.  
>The pair did their best to move through the desert as silently as they could. Mary's form began to bead with synthesized sweat as she walked, the desert heat bearing down on her small form in full force.  
>It was a half hour of walking before the pair noticed a shift in the sands around them. No longer pure sand, spots now sat in the sand where something had been jumping around, impacting the sand and forming large spikes of glass in it's wake. Mary reached for her chest gem and summoned her bow, Garnet clenched her fists and summoned her gauntlets while looking back at Mary, smiling as she saw Mary already had her bow out. Both knew the glass was a sign they were getting close to their target.  
>It only took three minutes of following the trail of glass before they noticed the trail ended. Garnet and Mary both stopped in their tracks, looking around for where the corrupted gem might have gone.  
>Mary gasped as she felt a rumbling sensation under her feet. Garnet whirled around in time to see Mary jumping away from where she stood, moments before a large shape emerged from the sand, fresh glass spikes rising from the sand with it. The corrupted gem was a giant worm, it's skin a pale red. From Mary's view, she could see a red teardrop gem on the corruption's belly, glowing brightly before it's body burst into fire, sending a wave of sweltering heat out.  
>Mary frantically scrambled back to avoid getting burned as Garnet lunged towards the corruption. "Mary, get a safe distance away and start firing!" Garnet shouted out as she felt the giant worm writhe within her grasp, turning it's attention away from Mary and towards Garnet herself.  
>Garnet spent her time dodging the blows from the giant worm as Mary made her way six feet back. She gritted her teeth as she knocked an energy arrow in her bow and took aim.  
>Mary hesitated as she saw Garnet dance around the worm's body. She let her arrow de-energize a little before resuming her aim. "Can't go explosive arrow unless I need to, Garnet might get hurt." she thought to herself, before letting an arrow loose.  
>The arrow flew towards the worm, impacting the upper portion of it's body and causing the worm to screech a little, letting Garnet get in a few punches before the creature refocused on the fusion. Garnet herself was smiling, her tactic was working.  
>Mary proceeded to let a few more arrows loose, one at a time, careful to avoid hitting Garnet. Each arrow made the worm cry out a little louder, each time the creature took longer to focus back on Garnet, letting her get more and more punches in at a time. Garnet started to get worried after the fifth arrow impacted, a sudden vision passing through her mind. "No, you won't be doing that." she whispered to herself as she went into a defensive stance, getting ready for what was about to happen.  
>With the sixth arrow impacting it's form, the worm decided it had enough. With a thunderous roar, it turned it's full attention towards Mary and started charging towards her. Mary flinched slightly before she noticed Garnet jumping forward, grabbing onto the creature's tail, stopping it from advancing.  
>"Mary, finish it, now!" Garnet shouted out. Mary nodded once before knocking three arrows in her bow at once, half charged so they'd explode, but wouldn't hurt Garnet or the beast's gemstone.  
>The arrows whizzed through the air, impacting the fiery worm in three spots, sinking deep into it's form before three small explosions rippled out, tearing the form to pieces in places, causing the gem to shudder before it released its form fully. It's gem fell from the air and landed gently upon the sand.  
>Garnet unsummoned her gauntlets and picked the gem up gently. She formed a small bubble around it before tapping the bubble and sending it off to the temple.  
>Garnet smiled as she looked at Mary. "You did a good job Mary, nice work."  
>"Thanks Garnet, you were pretty good yourself. Thanks for the saves out there."  
>"You're welcome. Let's go home."  
>"Hey, Garnet? Can you.....carry me? I feel exhausted." Mary spoke wearily, her form drenched in sweat.  
>Garnet's smile widened. "Okay, I'll carry you. You deserve a break."  
>Garnet picked Mary up gently in her arms and began jumping across the sands back towards the warp pad. Mary couldn't wait to get back home to relax, and maybe tell Mr. Universe about her mission. Garnet was looking forward to seeing another old friend healed of her affliction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said the next chapters would be laid back for Mary? Well, this idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone, so instead you got a battle against a giant sand worm.


	17. A promised shopping trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greg finally takes Mary out shopping for furniture.

>The day after her mission with Garnet, Mary found herself relaxing on her green couch and watching the large boxy TV set Greg had given her when she first moved in once more, with a smile on her face. This would be the last time she sat upon this particular couch. Greg had given her a call and told her they were finally going shopping for new furniture. As much as she liked the couch and the bed she had, she was looking forward to choosing her own and making the house feel more like her own.  
>A loud knock upon the door made Mary stand up quickly and rush towards the door. Her smile grows wider as she sees Greg standing before her. "Hey kiddo, you seem eager to get going."  
>"I am, it's been so long since we spent time just the two of us. Thanks for taking me out to get some new furniture Mr. Universe!"  
>"No problem. Shall we get going?"  
>"Yes please!"  
>Greg nodded and exited the doorway of the house. Mary summoned her wings and fluttered out the door behind him, locking it before she closed it.  
>The pair proceeded down the streets towards the furniture shop, a large blue building sitting near the center of town.  
>Greg and Mary entered the store. Mary desummoned her wings as she looked around in wonder. Couches, chairs, beds, sofas, recliners, dressers, tables, desks, and other things were spread out through the store. "Wow, there's so much."  
>Greg let out a little chuckle. "Yeah, it can be overwhelming the first time you see it, can't it? Don't worry kiddo, we can take as much time as we need to today."  
>Mary nodded her head as the pair started walking into the store, past the desks, tables, and dressers before they reached the couches. A wide variety of colors, sizes, and patterns were spread out before her.  
>Still smiling, Mary began to look closer at the couches, running her hands along the various materials to feel how they'd feel against her skin. Mary found herself drawn towards the linen fabrics more.  
>Mary began to sit on all the linen covered couches systematically. She started with a bright red one, bouncing on the cushions a bit to get a feel for how soft they were. She didn't like how unyielding the cushions were under her.  
>Mary shook her head and moved on to another, a darker purple one. wide enough to seat three people at once. Once more, she sat upon the couch and bounced a little. She found herself not liking how deep she sunk into the cushions on this one, finding it hard to get up from.  
>Mary kept moving from couch to couch, trying them out before moving on. A yellow one that was too small and too hard, a flannel patterned one that didn't have arm rests and was too soft, a black one that was too hard due to the built in fold out bed, and an orange one that felt nice, but then she flipped the cushion over and saw the big stain that was hiding on the other side of the middle cushion.  
>With a grimace and a sigh, she walked away from the orange couch, and that's when she saw it. A light blue couch, with spots of darker blue woven in a floral pattern upon the back. The couch itself was wide enough to seat four people comfortably, perfect for if she wanted to have some company over. Tentatively, she sat upon the cushions and leaned back.  
>When she felt herself sink just far enough into the couch, she smiled in contentment. "Mr. Universe, I think I found one I like. What do you think?"  
>Greg smiled as he sat down on the couch, leaving a cushion between him and Mary. "Kiddo, I think this is a good pick. If you're sure it's what you want, you can have it."  
>"Thanks Mr. Universe." Mary smiled as Greg went off to find a salesman to put the couch on reserve. After a few minutes, Greg came back with a salesman, the couch was marked as sold, and the pair began walking in the direction the man pointed them, towards the bed frames.  
>Mary and Greg made their way out of the couch section, past the chairs, dressers, and recliners, and finally arrived at the bed frames. "Okay kiddo, your mattress is a twin size mattress, so we need to pick a frame that matches. Do you want new sheets too?"  
>Mary thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, the sheets are fine, I like the color and how they feel. I like the frame too, but.....I think I shot it in my sleep a few times with my bow." Mary shuffled her feet nervously.  
>"Don't worry kiddo, I'm not mad. I know you were going through a rough time." Greg smiles as he places a hand on Mary's left shoulder.  
>Mary looks up and smiles "Thanks Mr. Universe, for understanding. I hope I can find one that looks similar to what I had."  
>The pair begin walking through the bed frames. Mary looks at each of the twin sized frames, passing up some of the simpler designs, the ones with solid headboards only, and also passing on the stranger designs, the ones with skulls and bones carved into the posts, the ones that form extremely sharp points, and the ones that looked like they were too frail.  
>After ten minutes of looking through frames and rejecting a lot, Mary let out a gasp as she spotted a new frame. The bed frame had four light brown bedposts, each one had a flower carved into the wood at the top, with vines spiraling down the posts from the flower to the floor. Mary smiled as she ran her fingers along the patterns, then looked back at Greg.  
>"You don't have to tell me kiddo, I can tell you really like that one."  
>"Y-yeah, I do, it's so pretty. I really like the pattern on it."  
>"Well, let me go find a salesman and we'll get the bed frame and couch rang up and paid for."  
>Mary waited patiently as Greg went off to find a salesman. A few minutes later, he came back with a salesman in tow, who pulled the tag and started off towards the front. Mary and Greg followed behind him.  
>When the man arrived at the counter with the register, he informed Mary and Greg that the furniture could be delivered right to Mary's home and it could be moved in right where she wanted it. After a brief talk, they both agreed that was the best course of action, to save Greg from having to close the wash two days in a row and to spare him the strain. The items were rang up, Greg paid for them, and the pair returned to Mary's home, where they spent one last night watching movies on the old couch before both decided to call it a night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this chapter has no action, but I feel like it shows off a little more about Mary, and Greg did promise her a shopping trip. Next chapter is more interesting, I promise.


	18. Hanging out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary visits Steven's home two days after her shopping trip with Greg, with the hopes of hanging out with him and the Crystal Gems.

>Two days had passed since Mary went on her shopping trip with Greg. The people from the furniture store had dropped by the day after they had purchased the furniture, and true to the word of the salesman, the delivery guys helped Mary move and rearrange her furniture exactly how she wanted it. She had shoved the old green couch in the corner and placed her new blue floral patterned couch in front of the TV. her old bed frame had been disassembled and the pieces carried into one of the spare rooms, and her new bed frame had been assembled, the box spring and mattress sat gently into it. When the delivery guys had finished helping her, she thanked them both for their help.  
>A good night's rest had gotten her in the mood to visit Steven and the Crystal Gems. Mary had locked her house up, summoned her wings, and fluttered her way over to the beach house, smiling as she landed on the porch, then gave the door a few light knocks.   
>From within the house, Mary heard Lapis's voice calling out. "Who's out there? Steven's not home right now, if you were here to see him."  
>Mary was taken aback for a moment, hesitating before she called out a response. "Lapis it's me, Mary! Can I....can I come in for a bit? I wanted to spend time with all of you, but I don't mind if it's just you an me."  
>A second voice called out, one Mary recognized as the voice of Peridot. "Mary? Just a second, I'll unlock the door with my metal powers, nyehehe!" A few seconds of Peridot grunting were followed by the sound of the door lock clicking unlocked. "It's unlocked now, you may proceed to enter the premises!"   
>Mary slowly turned the doorknob and entered the beach house. She gave a brief glance around, spotting Peridot and Lapis close to each other. Lapis had her water wings out, while Peridot was stuffing small bits of metal into a small pouch around her waist, a large metal disk painted with red and yellow flames around its edges tucked under her arm. Both gems smiled at Mary as she made her way into the house.   
>"Mary, it's good to see you again. Sorry if you were here for Steven, he went out with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl to.....do something very important." Lapis spoke, a hint of sympathy in her voice.  
>"No no, that's alright! I mean, I'm a little bummed that you all weren't here, but I know there's still a lot of important things for them to do. So, why didn't you two go with them?" Mary looked between the pair, her mind wandering between possibilities for why they would have stayed behind.   
>Peridot spoke up in response. "Oh, well that's very simple! You see, they're heading for an area that's very turbulent right now. Me and Lapis both fly around, the air currents would have severely hindered our combat capabilities! I suspect that's why they didn't contact you about the mission, you like using your wings a lot too."   
>Mary thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that's fair. I mean, I can fight without my wings, I've done it before, but they do help a lot with dodging and getting a good angle with my bow. So, are you two doing anything, or have something planned?"  
>Peridot responded with excitement. "As a matter of fact we do! Lapis was telling me about this quaint little island she found during her exploration of Earth, we were just about to go see it." A idea popped into Peridot's head. "Oh, I know, you should come with us! Lapis, you don't mind showing the way to Mary too, do you?"  
>Lapis hesitated for a moment before she replied. "Nah, I don't mind, she can come with us if she wants. Would you like that Mary?"  
>"Of course I would, a day on an island sounds like fun!"  
>"Alright. Peridot, are you ready?"  
>Peridot stuffed a few more scraps of metal into her pouch before zipping it halfway closed and giving a thumbs up. "I think I have enough metal, I'm ready!"  
>"Mary, do you need anything before we go?" Lapis looked at Mary with a smile.  
>"Hold on, let me leave Steven a note saying I came by before we leave!" Mary looked around the room before she spotted a blue crayon laying loose on the coffee table in front of the couch, a few sheets of paper loose nearby. She quickly wrote out a simple message. "Steven, it's Mary. Came by to see you, you weren't here. Going out with Lapis and Peridot. Hope to catch you tomorrow."  
>Mary placed the blue crayon down on top of the sheet of paper when she finished writing and smiled. "Okay, now I'm ready to go!"   
>"Alright, follow me you two." Lapis spoke out, stepping out of the beach house and summoning her water wings on the porch before taking off. Peridot was right behind her, jumping up on her large metal disk before it levitated off the porch and up into the air. Mary was the last one out of the house, locking the door behind her before she flapped her own water wings quickly, taking off from the porch and catching up with Lapis and Peridot in a few seconds.   
>The trio flew out over the ocean, Lapis taking the lead, with Mary and Peridot following a little behind her. The ocean water sparkled in the sunlight as the trio flew over it.   
>A few minutes into the flight, the trio stopped and hovered for a moment as a large whale surfaced for a breath of air, spraying water into the air from its blowhole. Mary let out a gasp of amazement at the sight of the creature and the sight of the light refracting through the water droplets, forming a brief rainbow pattern in the air before the whale dove back under the waves.   
>"Wow, that was amazing! I've never seen anything like that before!" Mary spoke out in awe.   
>Laps smiled as she called out. "Yeah, some of the things you'll see in the ocean are pretty spectacular. There's tons of things in the depths, I don't think I've seen it all myself."  
>"The organics on this planet are quite fascinating, I simply must endeavor to catalog as many as I can when we....err, when I have more spare time." Peridot started to sweat a little at her little slip-up.  
>Mary smiled as she looked over at Peridot. "It's okay to say we and not you, I'd be happy to help you out sometime. I bet Steven would too!"   
>"Right....right, I'm sure he'd be a suitable aid for my cataloging efforts. Thanks for the offer to help Mary, I just might ask you for your assistance."  
>Lapis called out from ahead of the pair. "You two better be careful when you go to catalog life in the oceans, some of the stuff I saw while.....well, some of the stuff I've seen in the depths was enough to frighten a Quartz soldier."  
>Peridot nodded her head in understanding "I'll be careful, I promise. I'll be sure Mary is safe too if she comes along."  
>Mary briefly wondered why Lapis was so certain some sea life could scare a Quartz soldier. She had encountered quite a few during her service with her Aquamarine, she never knew any of them to fear any organics. She made a mental note to herself to ask Lapis about her words in more detail later. She didn't want to spoil their time together.  
>Lapis's voice called out, snapping Mary out of her contemplation. "We're here, the little island I found. Isn't it great?"  
>Mary and Peridot both turned their attention downward. Mary let out a gasp as she saw the island. The land was shaped like a large crescent moon. From above, Mary could spot a few bright blue lakes shining through breaks in the green sea of treetops. Near the largest part of the island's curve sat a moderate sized mountain, the green treetops fading away into the dark grey stone halfway up. Mary could make out a few caves upon the island, her mind wandering with the potential they could hold.   
>Peridot spoke out. "It truly is a marvelous island Lapis. I can't wait to get a closer look!"   
>"Hey Lapis, how much have you explored of this place?" Mary called out her question as Lapis slowed her flying down, prompting Peridot and Mary to slow themselves down too.  
>"Not much, but it looked safe enough to spend a day of fun on it. C'mon, who's up for an island adventure?" Lapis asked her question a moment before she dove down quickly towards the island.   
>"Lapis wait for meeeeee!" Peridot shouted out as she sped after her blue friend.   
>Mary let out a soft giggle before she started her own descent. She soon found her feet touching the soft sandy shores, Lapis having landed in the sand a short distance away from her, with Peridot hovering over the sands on her disk. Mary was ready for whatever adventure the island held, and was glad she'd be sharing the experience with Lapis and Peridot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should come as no surprise, next chapter covers an island adventure! What could be waiting for Lapis, Peridot, and Mary? You'll find out when I finish writing it!


	19. Island adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary explores a jungle on an island with Lapis and Peridot.

>Mary smiled as she took a deep breath of fresh island air, glancing over at Peridot and Lapis once more as she phased her shoes off to feel the warm sand between her toes. Nearby, Peridot was pulling the metal out of the pouch on her waist, floating the pieces in the air as she herself floated upon her metal disk, smiling and giggling as she did so.  
>Curiosity took a hold of Mary as she approached the green gem. "Hey Peridot, what are you doing? Need any help with that?"  
>"Negative, I do not require help, but wow thanks for asking! I'm using the metal to assemble a few small containers. Lapis was telling me about some of the fascinating specimens on the island, I hope to collect a few to grow for myself."  
>Mary paused for a moment before she nodded her head. "Sounds like fun, I hope you can find what you're looking for here on the island. If you have anything special in mind you're looking for, just let me know and I'll keep my eyes open for them."  
>Before Peridot could speak out, Lapis shouted out to the pair. "Hey Mary, Peridot, are you two coming into the jungle, or am I going in alone?"  
>"In a moment Lapis, I need to finish these containers!" Peridot shouted back, a little annoyed before turning her attention back to Mary. "There are three specimens I'm looking for. The first is a lovely light orange flower, with many layers of petals, forming the shape of a cartoon sun. The second is a large pink flower, the center of it looks like a strawberry, with round petals folding out from the center. The last flower has pale blue petals, with thin blue portions spreading from a green and brown center. Its petals are also of a rounder nature. If you see any of them, inform me please."  
>Mary nodded her head as she phased her shoes back onto her feet. "I'll keep my eyes open Peridot, you can count on me. C'mon, let's go catch up with Lapis."  
>Mary rushed off on foot towards where Lapis was now standing, her own wings unsummoned and her sandal clad feet touching the ground firmly. Peridot followed closely behind the girl, sighing for a moment before she leapt off of her metal disk, placing three makeshift containers upon it and floating it in front of herself.  
>With the three now properly on the ground, they started into the thick jungle, Lapis leading the way with Peridot and Mary following behind her. Birds were singing their songs and fluttering through the air in a rainbow of colors, large green masses grew around the base of some of the tropical trees, the leaves branching out into thin green strips and hanging at various heights around the group. Mary giggled as she brushed a few aside to keep them from smacking her face,  
>Mary's smile grew wider as she watched Peridot wave her arms around as her face was smacked with a large leaf, snapping the small green gem out of her focused search for the plants in question.  
>After a few moments of walking, Mary heard a whisper from ahead of her. "This place really is amazing." Lapis spoke out in awe. "No matter how much I explore it, Earth always manages to surprise me again and again."  
>Mary took the opportunity to speak up. "It is a lovely island Lapis. Just how much of Earth have you explored?"  
>Lapis was taken off guard for a moment at the sudden question. "W-well, I've been to a lot of places. The Great North, The icy wastelands, many tropical forests on the world......there are some human cities I've explored too, like Empire City and Ocean town." Lapis took a pause, hesitating before she continued, her voice turning a little more serious. "Spent a lot of time in the oceans too. The crushing depths can really surprise you and make you think about things."  
>Mary shuddered a bit at that response. "I, I see. Sounds like you've seen a lot of things. I....I'd like it if you gave me recommendations of places to visit sometime."  
>Lapis turned around and smiled at Mary. "Sure, you've got it. I'll work on a list of the top ten places to visit on Earth when we get back."  
>Lapis turned back around and continued walking. Mary became lost in thought at the prospect of exploring some of the better places on Earth. Beach City was a great home, and she loved her house there, but she also felt the need to really explore the world on her own, to see more of what it could offer her.  
>After another ten minutes of walking, the silence was broken by a shout of excitement from Peridot and a question from Mary.  
>"Look look! There's the orange specimen I'm after!" Peridot spoke with glee.  
>"Hey Peridot, isn't that the pink flower you mentioned earlier?" Mary spoke her question shortly after Peridot finished speaking.  
>"Wait, really? Oh stars, it is! That's the pink specimen I'm seeking! Great observation skills Mary. You go over and get one of those, I'll take care of the orange flower. Get some of the roots please!"  
>Peridot rushed over to her orange flowers and Lapis stood still, smiling as she watched Peridot dig in the dirt excitedly. This left Mary digging at the base of one of the pink flowers, trying to dig into the ground with her fingers and scoop as many of the roots as possible.  
>It took the pair a few minutes of digging, but soon the plants were free from the ground. Mary carried hers over to Peridot carefully as Peridot placed the orange flower in a metal container, dirt and all. "Here Peridot, I hope I got enough of the roots out."  
>Peridot hummed to herself as she examined the plant Mary had brought her. "Hmm, yes, this is acceptable. You preformed the extraction of the specimen with great excellence. Wow thanks for the efforts Mary."  
>Mary's cheeks flushed a light blue at Peridot's compliments. "You're welcome Peridot."  
>"Are you two finished? Digging in the dirt is fine, but there's more of the island to explore and it's going to get dark soon. I really want to show you two something before it gets dark."  
>Mary and Peidot both looked at Lapis with confusion and curiosity. Mary spoke up first. "You want to show us something? Where is it, what is it?"  
>Lapis smirked "If you want to know, you'll have to keep up!" With that, Lapis took off running through the forest.  
>Mary and Peridot both look at each other once more before they both smile. Mary took off running after Lapis first, her combat training allowing her to react quickly, with Peridot following behind her a few moments later. Mary giggled as she ran through the forest, following the taller blue gem's form. She reveled in the feeling of the air rushing past her body, the thrill of weaving the trees at a high speed, the color of the scenery around her blurring. Behind her, Peridot had leapt back onto her metal disk, struggling to keep up with the speed of her blue companions.  
>Fifteen minutes of running were all it took before Lapis entered a large clearing, summoning her wings as she flew up in the air and floated over a small lake. Behind her, the sky was taking on shades of orange, red, and purple, the sun started to set upon the island. Mary's feet dug into the ground as she slid to a stop just past the treeline, Peridot arriving on her disk right behind a minute later.  
>With her companions watching, Lapis shouted out. "This is what I want to show you two, watch!" With a motion of her hands, the water of the little lake rose into the air, forming a large ball of water within the clearing.  
>Mary and Peridot both let out gasps of awe as they looked upon the ball of water. Within it, several small species of fish were swimming around, some of them red with black spots, some were orange with white stripes, some were blue with yellow fins, and many more colorful species were on clear display. "What do you two think, pretty cool right?"  
>Mary whispered out in awe. "It's amazing.....so many different colors and sizes. This is great Lapis, thanks for showing me, showing us."  
>"Wow, this truly is spectacular. Wow thanks Lapis, it's a magnificent sight to behold."  
>Lapis smiled as she let the water down slowly, the hole of the lake filling up with water once more. "I'm glad I got to show you two before we had to leave. Sorry you didn't find that last flower Peridot, I'll help you look for it another day."  
>"Yeah....yeah! We can come back here to look for it soon! Thanks for volunteering to assist my search Lapis!" Peridot smiled widely as she responded.  
>Mary spoke up "I hope you two can find it the next time you're here. I'll keep my eyes open if I come back here too. I'd like to see more of the island up close. That's okay, right Lapis?"  
>"Why wouldn't it be? You can come back here anytime Mary." Lapis spoke in a flat tone, before adding in a playful jab. "That is, if you can find it without me."  
>"Why you......I'll find it again, you can count on it!" Mary giggled as she finished speaking.  
>The three took off from the island, Mary and Lapis on her water wings, Peridot on her metal disk, her two new flowers in tow. It wasn't quite the day Mary had in mind, but she was glad she got to spend time with the two gems she had spent the least amount of time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long. I got a little stuck writing it out, ended up jumping between thoughts on what they should be doing. Worked on the chapter after this one a little while I was stuck, hopefully it won't take as long to come out.


	20. A day with Amethyst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst arrives at Mary's house to invite her out for a day of fun.

>A night had passed since Mary's island adventure with Lapis and Peridot. She was resting soundly in her bed when a loud knock at the door echoed through the house.  
>Muttering under her breath, Mary quickly phased her sleeping pajamas into her normal outfit of sweatpants, a tee-shirt, finger-less gloves and sneakers, all colored different shades of blue. She smiled momentarily as she grabbed the physical ribbon that went into making the blue bow that sat on top of her head, tying it into place as she walked through the halls of her home and towards the front door. Another loud knock caused her to shout out tiredly. "Hold on, I'm coming!"  
>A few more quick steps, and Mary arrived fumbling with the door lock a moment before she finally managed to open the door. Upon opening the door, the blue Combat Connie found herself face to face with Amethyst. The purple gem smiled as she spoke out. "Hey girl, got any plans for today?"  
>Mary rubbed her sleepy eyes for a moment before speaking out in confusion. "Amethyst? I don't.....I was going to try visiting you guys today actually, is anyone else at the temple?"  
>"Nah, they went out on a mission. It wasn't something that required all of us, so I decided to stay behind for a day of fun. I'mma hit Funland today, wanna come with?"  
>Mary felt a little uneasy. The gems had been going on a lot of missions lately, yet there was always at least one person left to spend time with. Mary couldn't help but feel there was something else going on, something they didn't want her knowing about. On the other hand, maybe they were leaving people behind just so she had someone to spend time with if she stopped by?  
>"I'll have to sort this out later. A day at Funland sounds fun, may as well spend time with Amethyst." Mary thought to herself as she nodded her head, speaking out a reply. "Alright, I'd be happy to come with you Amethyst. Just lead the way."  
>Amethyst smiled as she turned around. "Sweet, follow me! Oh man, today's going to be great!" Mary followed behind her, taking a moment to lock up her home before rushing to catch up with the purple quartz on foot. Mary wanted to truly experience the day in its entirety, vowing not to use her water wings unless she had to.  
>It took Amethyst and Mary fifteen minutes to walk from her home to the entrance of Funland, Amethyst keeping a brisk pace with Mary easily keeping up. The two paused at the entrance for a moment, Amethyst smiling as she turned around to see Mary's eyes widening with excitement. "Pretty sweet right? Just wait til you see the rides girl, there's so many to choose from! There's bumper cars, the Ferris wheel, a ride that spins you around a lot, and the roller coasters!" A thought popped into Amethyst's head, causing her expression to fall a bit. "Oh, uh......Mary, how do you feel about shapeshifting? I forgot, some of the more fun rides have height restrictions."  
>Mary broke out of her thoughts of all the things she could try at Amethyst's words. "Shapeshifting? I don't mind reshaping my form if I need to, but will it really be required? I'm the same height you are."  
>Amethyst rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Yeah, thing is, I'm too short for some rides, so.....if you don't want to, we can ride the other stuff, it's no big deal."  
>Mary shook her head. "I want to ride all the rides! Just, show me how tall I need to be and I'll match that height."  
>Amethyst's smile returned. "Alright, here goes!" Her gem glowed as her form shifted, her arms and legs grew a few inches longer, her tattered shirt and pants were replaced by a pure white tee-shirt and blue jeans, a black hat formed upon her white hair. "This is about right. Now it's your turn!"  
>Mary nodded, closed her eyes, and focused. She could feel the gem on her own chest glowing as she visualized how much taller she wanted to be. Her own arms and legs grew a few inches, her pants and sleeves growing longer to match. Her fingers lengthened out, her nails lengthening through the glove openings. Her head became a little larger, her blue hair darkened and grew further down her back, and her body took on a more teenage appearance. Mary let out a gasp as her changes set in. She could feel her gem straining a little to keep her in her larger form. "Th-there, I did it! Let's.....let's get on the coaster, before one of us loses focus!"  
>Amethyst shouted out in excitement. "That's the spirit! Come on, let's go!"  
>The pair rushed towards the line for the coaster. Mary let out a silent thanks as she saw how short the line was. It only took the pair a few cycles of people loading onto the coaster before they got to get on themselves, their shifted forms easily passing the height requirements.  
>The bar locked them in, the coaster started to inch forward, raising slowly up the hill. Amethyst and Mary were sitting at the head of the coaster, Amethyst's smile widening as they raised into the air, while Mary felt a mixture of uneasiness and excitement welling up within her.  
>The coaster car stalled a moment at the top of the hill, making Mary's heart skip a beat in fear of the coaster being broken before the car went rocketing down the hill. Mary let out a shout of joy as she felt the speed of the car, the air rushing past her body, reminding her of the times she had pushed her flying skills to the limit. Her joy only grew as the coaster made its twists and turns along the track, turning the occupants sideways and even upside down as it went through a loop, the sensation of her long hair hanging above her and her body being pulled with gravity for a moment sending a thrill through Mary's form, before the car finished traveling through the loop, through one more turn, and back into the station.  
>When the pair was a safe distance away from the coaster, Mary giggled as she let her body shift back down to her normal size, her clothing resizing as her form shrank. "That was amazing! I never knew such things existed! Remind me to come back here when I've had more practice holding a form longer!"  
>Amethyst let out her own laugh. "Yeah, it was pretty great wasn't it? I never get bored with the roller coaster. But what do you mean, "practice holding a form longer"? You looked like you've had plenty of practice to me."  
>"Amethyst, can I tell you something?"  
>"Sure, go ahead. I'm all ears!" Amethyst shifted two large ears on her form, causing Mary to laugh once more.  
>"Amethyst, I'm serious!"  
>Amethyst kept laughing as she shifted her form back to normal, ears and body size both. "Okay, okay, I'll be serious for a moment. What do you want to talk about?"  
>"Well......I never had much of a reason to shapeshift back on Homeworld. I did it once or twice in tight spots, but I could never hold it for very long. Today was.....actually the longest I've ever held a form before."  
>Amethyst's joyful expression fell a little. "Seriously? You never like, messed around with your body just to see if you could?"  
>"I mean, I did one time, I shifted myself into the form of a creature I had seen on a planet me and Aqua had gone to.......but it freaked her out. She didn't tell me not to do it, but I always felt bad for scaring her.....so I never really did it after that."  
>Mary shuffled her feet along the ground as she recalled the form she had taken, six long tentacles, a large bulky body, a head that looked similar to an Earth shark she had seen on TV, with massive spikes poking out of its forehead and lining its tentacles. The creatures hadn't been aggressive towards her or her Aquamarine, but they had both seen the creatures take bites out of the rocks that rested on the ocean's floor.  
>Mary still remembered that aquatic mission too, they had been sent to retrieve the remains of a gem ship that had malfunctioned and crashed in the water, along with finding out what had happened to the crew. Most of the gems had survived, their stones pinned within the wreck of the ship and intact, but three weren't as lucky, stones split right down the middle from metal piercing them completely. It was one of the worst missions she had ever gone on.  
>"Well that sucks. Tell ya what Mary, if you want, I'll help you build up your shapeshifting stamina with a few private lessons! How does that sound?"  
>Mary nodded and smiled as she replied. "I would like that very much Amethyst. Thank you."  
>"No problem kiddo. Now come on, let's go see the rest of Funland!"  
>Amethyst sprinted off in glee, with Mary following close behind. The pair would end up riding every ride and playing every game they could before the park started to close down. When they parted ways, Mary found herself looking forward to shapeshifting advice and lessons from Amethyst. She was happy she had gone out with the small quartz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so next chapter isn't as concrete as it was. I have another idea I could fit in before getting back to the main story, and what will likely be the final arc of Mary's tale. We'll see what I'm in the mood to do after I see the movie. Sadly won't see it live, posting this chapter from my phone at work.


	21. Secrets revealed

>True to her word, Amethyst spent the next three days after her and Mary's trip to Funland helping Mary with her shapeshifting, putting Mary through several exercises designed to push Mary's powers to reshape herself to the limit. Mary found herself enjoying the challenge, seeing just how far she could push herself. With each passing day, she could hold forms a little longer and shift her form a little further. All the while though, she couldn't help but feel there was another reason behind why Amethyst seemed intent on meeting her in her own home instead of over at the temple. She was beginning to grow concerned about what was going on there.   
>When the fourth morning dawned and Amethyst didn't meet her at the normal time, Mary knew for sure something else was going on. Summoning her water wings and locking her home up behind her, she sped through the sky towards the beach house, the air chilling her body slightly as she flew.   
>Mary landed on the porch of the beach house gently, unsummoning her wings as her feet touched the wood. Much to her surprise, she found the door was unlocked. "That's strange, usually they keep the door locked. Are they expecting me?" Mary thought to herself as she cautiously opened the door.   
>Mary stepped inside, her suspicions of being expected confirmed when she spotted the two figures waiting for her. Steven and Garnet were present in the beach house. While Garnet stood silent near the warp pad, her arms crossed over her chest, Steven sat on a stool near the kitchen counter. When he spotted her, his eyes widened for a moment before he smiled and waved at her. "Oh, h-hey Mary, nice to see you here! What brings you by?"  
>Mary can feel her anger building up inside her. Something is clearly going on, yet Steven is trying to play innocent and act surprised? She takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down before she speaks, a slight edge of annoyance on her voice. "Steven, Garnet, what's going on? For the last week or so, I've only seen a few gems at a time, you guys have been out of the house on missions and.....and didn't think I could help on most of them. Do.....did I do something wrong? Do you guys......not want to spend time with me anymore?"  
>Steven's heart skips a beat upon hearing those words, his own words spilling out frantically. "What, no! You, you didn't do anything wrong, I promise. We want to spend time with you, it's just, the missions we're going on, they, they're about......." Steven glances at Garnet with uncertainty. "Garnet, she needs to know! I, I don't want to hide this anymore."  
>Mary's eyes dart from Steven to Garnet, hints of tears welling up in her eyes. "Garnet? Please, whatever's going on...just, just tell me already!"  
>Garnet lets out a sigh. "I didn't want it coming out today, but we have no choice. Mary, you deserve the truth, and the truth is, we've been.....thinking about the gem shards a lot. We've been trying to....restore them to full gems."  
>Mary let out a gasp of surprise, her mind reeling with the possibilities, a flurry of questions escaping her mouth as she processed it all. "You've been trying to restore the gem shards?! But, why didn't you tell me!? I, I could have helped you! Wait, how has it gone? Have you had any success?! Have you.....brought back any gems?"   
>"We didn't tell you because we didn't want you getting your hopes up. I knew you might try something.....foolish if you knew." Garnet clenched her jaw a bit as she thought of some of the futures she had seen where Mary had been directly involved in their tests. Mary kept her cool in most of them, but the ones where she didn't.......were too terrible to risk them becoming reality.   
>It was Steven's turn to speak up now. "We......I can't heal them. Even if we have all the shards, they don't come back together with my healing powers. Even the....the shard experiments can't be healed. I can't do anything for them alone."  
>The words sunk into Mary's mind. Deep down, she knew restoring gems from shards was a distant dream unlikely to happen, but hearing that they had tried and failed......it hit Mary hard. "Then......that's it? There's no.....helping gems once they've been broken?"  
>"There's nothing I can do, but.....we've doing two things Mary." Steven answered in as cheerful of a tone as he could manage. "The first thing we're doing is sending the shard experiments to......to the Diamonds, to Homeworld. Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, and Lapis are transporting the larger clusters right now. With luck, Homeworld science might succeed where.....where we couldn't."  
>Mary swallowed hard. She knew how much Steven hated going to the Diamonds for anything, she had heard about how clingy they got around the boy. "They must have exhausted all other choices if Steven went to the Diamonds for help." she thought to herself. Then, another thought came to her mind, making her ask an important question. "What.....what's the other thing you're doing?"  
>Steven's face paled a little as he swallowed hard. "Well.....you see.....ugh, I can't do this. I can't tell her this one, I hate thinking about it. I know it needs to be done and what it will accomplish but...."  
>Garnet's voice interrupted Steven's. "It's okay, you DON'T have to say anymore. I'll take it from here."  
>"Thanks Garnet." Steven hopped off the stool and looked at Mary. "Try.....try not to freak out, okay? I, we've thought about this and talked about it a lot."  
>Mary started to open her mouth to speak, but Garnet spoke up before she could. "I'll be direct here Mary. The shards that aren't pressed into clusters......we're going to use them to help restore life to planets."  
>Mary's confusion grew. "But, is that all? Why....why would I freak out over that? Isn't that a good thing?"  
>Garnet let out a sigh of frustration. "We.....with a little research, we found that when a gem is.....broken, the powder that breaks free from the shards makes the soil very fertile. It's why ancient gem battlefields are overgrown patches of giant plants now. To utilize the shards......we're going to grind them down to dust."  
>Mary's face paled as she took a few stunned steps back. She couldn't understand it, why would they destroy the shards?! Why did they have to do it at all? Hadn't they suffered enough? She looked to Steven and saw the boy visually shaking from the mention of what was planned. She knew then that Steven felt the same way she did.  
>Garnet's voice wavered a bit as she kept talking. "Please understand, we've talked about this a lot. We've gone over all our options, weighed the benefits against......against the horrible fate we'll be putting the shards through. The tests we've done with existing gem powder showed us we could restore life to the Kindergartens. We.....the gem shards will finally have a peaceful rest, and we can fix some of the damage done by gems across the universe. It's the....it's the most beneficial thing we can do for them and with them."  
>Only one thing was on Mary's mind now. "You.....you're not going to.....what about the shard I buried? Are you going to......dig up Aqua?"  
>Garnet visually flinched at Mary's words. "No, we won't. The shards in the bubbles, those were.....those were our friends, our family. We're doing this to put them to rest and honor their sacrifice by using them to spread more life through the galaxy. Aqua is your friend, your family. We won't force you to dig her up. The choice of what happens to her is yours alone."  
>A silence fell over the room. Steven was glancing nervously between Mary and Garnet, unsure of how she'd take Garnet's words. Garnet was scanning the future timelines, trying to find the most likely one now that everything was out in the open. Mary herself.....ran through everything in her mind.   
>Finally, Mary let out a long sigh before she spoke. "I.....I don't like what you're going to do, but I know I don't have the right to stop it. If this is how you want to honor them, that's fine. Aqua.....her shard is staying where I buried it, if that's okay. I'll move it if I have to, but I want to keep her buried as she is just......just in case. I, I can't, I can't just let her......"  
>Garnet gave a quick nod. "It's okay, I understand. You......might want to move her. Leaving her around Pink Diamond's palanquin puts her resting place in danger from gems who......might go there to express frustration at what Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond did."  
>Mary nodded her head in understanding. "Okay. Thanks for.....thanks for telling me what was going on. I....I know this must be hard for you guys." Relief started washing over Mary. Now she knew why they had been acting so strangely, and now she knew everything was still okay between her and the Crystal Gems.  
>"Sorry for not telling you sooner. Would.....do you want a hug?" Steven extended his arms out towards Mary with a smile.  
>Mary nodded wordlessly and started moving towards Steven. Steven started moving towards Mary at the same time, a smile on his face as relief washed over him. He had been dreading how Mary would react to all of this. Now that it was all out, they could finally start hanging out more again.  
>Mary wrapped her arms around Steven as the two met, Steven wrapping his arms around her shortly after. The two stood there in each other's embrace, their tensions vanishing. Mary still had a few things to think about, but she'd worry about it later. Right now, she just wanted to spend time with her friend.   
>Unfortunately for Mary, she wouldn't get the chance to be at peace for long. A loud crashing noise and the sound of sand raining down on the beach snapped Mary and Steven out of their hug, and caught the attention of Garnet. "Something just landed out there!" She shouted out as she summoned her gauntlets and dashed for the door, leaving Mary and Steven behind. The pair exchanged a brief look before they summoned their own weapons and headed out of the beach house. Whatever it was, they would be ready to face it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll freely admit it, I procrastinated with this chapter. I wasn't sure where I wanted to end it, and a part of me knows this is the start of the last real arc I have planned for Mary. I know I need to write it out, but at the same time, I've been working on this story for a while. It's a strange mix of emotions.
> 
> In the end, I left it here to avoid spoiling what the main meat of this arc will be. I'll try not to procrastinate so much about sorting out the next chapter.


	22. A surprising visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary, Steven, and Garnet rush outside to see what crashed on the beach. All three are surprised when they realize who and what it is.

>Mary and Steven shared an uneasy look before they both nodded and followed behind Garnet, Steven summoning his shield, and Mary bringing her bow out. When they arrived outside, they saw Garnet standing on the deck, her gaze fixated on the beach.  
>Mary and Steven both followed her gaze to the small crater in the sand. Within the crater sat a light orange round pod, it's style and shape sending a chill through Mary's form. "Is that.....it looks like the pod I came in." she thought to herself.   
>None of them were prepared for what happened next. A portion of the pod slid open slowly, revealing a small figure within. Garnet, Steven, and Mary all let out a gasp as they saw her, another Combat Connie. Her skin was a swirl of light orange and white, her body covered in an orange jumpsuit that resembled what a Quartz Soldier would wear, complete with a Yellow Diamond insignia on her chest. Her long white hair reached from her head to a few inches away from the ground. Within her right eye, a thin rectangular gem sat, colored a light orange and running vertically where her eye should have been. Her left eye stood out from the rest of her, her iris shaded a light green but ringed in a yellow hue.  
>The orange Combat Connie looked around her surroundings for a moment before she caught sight of the stairs leading up to the beach house, her gaze following up the stairs and landing on Garnet, Steven, and Mary. Her one eye widened at the sight of the trio, fixating more on Mary than anyone else as thoughts ran through her mind. "Another Combat Connie is here, with another gem and a human? Were the rumors true? Can.....can I really make a new life here?" Nervously, the girl waves her right hand at the trio and speaks out uneasily. "H-hi. S-sorry for crashing on y-your beach, but is this E-earth?"  
>Mary, Steven, and Garnet exchanged a brief look at each other before they unsummoned their weapons. Garnet was the first to speak. "Yes, it is. Tell us why you came here."  
>"U-um, I, ah, came to live here? Th-that's okay, right? E-earth is a place for gems to have a n-new start, correct?" The Combat Connie stuttered nervously.   
>It was Steven's turn to speak up. "Of course it is! You can stay here as long as you want! Hi, I'm Steven! You're another Combat Connie, right?"  
>Before the girl could speak, Mary spoke up. "Of course she is Steven, just look at her! Same nose, same general hairstyle but longer, similar voice." Then Mary turned to the new Combat Connie and smiled. "Sorry, just speeding this up. My name is Mary, I'm an Aquamarine Combat Connie. The gem that told you to tell us why you came here is Garnet. Can you please tell us, do you have a name for yourself, and what type of gem are you based off of?"  
>The yellow Combat Connie's eye widened in realization. "O-oh, of course! F-forgive me, I, my name is Angie. I was created for a Tangerine Aura Quartz. I-if that's all, I'd like to......try and find somewhere to settle down." Angie gives the trio a sheepish smile, and starts moving to sit back down in her ship, turning her attention to the control panel within the vessel.  
>Garnet speaks out. "Stay put for a minute, don't go anywhere." Her voice makes Angie tense up as she turns her attention back to Steven, Mary, and Garnet.   
>Garnet looks between Mary and Steven before she speaks. "Huddle and whisper, now."  
>Mary and Steven nod as they both bunch close to Garnet. With the three close together, Garnet speaks in a low tone. "We can't let her run off, if she's here, then......."  
>"Then she's gotta be like me, right Garnet?" Mary finishes Garnet's sentence. "She's probably lost her gem partner somehow. Hopefully......hopefully not like I lost Aqua."   
>"We should help her, all of us! I'm sure Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis, and Peridot would love someone new around." Steven speaks up, excitement in his voice.  
>"Perhaps, but the timing is......unfortunate." Garnet speaks in a surprisingly sombre tone. "We'll be dealing with the shards and.....and the aftermath of that for a few weeks at least."  
>A brief hush falls over the trio, nobody sure of what to say to that. A minute passes before Mary speaks up. "I'll do it. I'll try to help her."  
>Garnet and Steven both look at Mary in concern. Steven speaks up. "Mary, that's amazing of you, but can you do it alone? Let me help you help her. We'll have a better chance of helping her together."   
>Mary shakes her head. "No.....no I can do this myself. I want to do this. As a Combat Connie who's......lost someone close to me, I can connect with her in a way you two can't." Then Mary looks at Steven and smiles. "Besides, Pearl, Garnet, and the others are going to need your help to get through the.....the deal with the shards, right?" Mary turned her attention towards Garnet.  
>Garnet let out a low hum before speaking. "It will be a hard process for those of us that knew the gems that the shards used to be. Steven shouldn't have to sit through what we're planning to do but.....it's his choice."  
>Steven looked between Mary and Garnet for a moment before he let out a sigh. "Sorry Mary, but I think you're right. They're going to need me at their side for this. But.....let me know if you need advice, okay? Or, you could talk to my dad, he helped you out after all!"  
>Mary nodded in agreement. "I will, I promise. I'll talk to Greg soon, but for now, I know exactly where to take her."  
>"Then it's decided. Good luck Mary." Garnet spoke, with a smile on her face.   
>"Thanks Garnet. Good luck with......the shards."  
>Mary, Garnet, and Steven broke out of the huddle and turned their attention back to the beach. Angie was still there, standing in her ship and looking up at the trio. Mary smiled as she summoned her water wings and floated down to Angie directly as Steven and Garnet went back into the beach house. "Okay, Angie, we had a little talk. We'd all like to show you around town and some parts of the Earth, but the other gems here are busy with something very important right now. But don't be disappointed! As a fellow Combat Connie, I'm more than happy to show you around myself, if you'll let me. What do you say? Would you like a guided tour and a place to rest?"  
>"I.....I don't want to i-impose on you. You.....you must have worked h-hard to make a life here for yourself."  
>Mary smiled as she placed her right hand on Angie's right shoulder. "Actually, I had some help getting set up myself. It's okay to ask for help, I promise. C'mon, at least give me a chance?"  
>Angie thought for a moment before she meekly nodded. "Okay.....okay, p-please show me around."   
>"First thing's first. Let's get your ship somewhere safe. May I climb in?"  
>"S-sure." Angie nodded her head, scooting over a little to make room for Mary.   
>With a smile on her face, Mary took the ship's controls and the ship itself floated out of the crater on the beach. Mary proceeded to fly the ship towards her home as a thought passed through her mind. "I promise you Angie, I'll help you out......just like they helped me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while because while I knew where I wanted to take the story next, I didn't know exactly how I wanted it to play out. Until today, I was stuck on a gem type and a name, and I needed at least one of those for the story. So here she is, Angie the Tangerine Aura Quartz Combat Connie. You'll learn more about her purpose later.
> 
> It's probably clear now, this final arc will be about Mary trying to help Angie through her issues that caused her to come to Earth. I want to show Mary's process with this too, to show her methods, her shortcomings, and how she can still grow through trying to help others.


End file.
